Unthinkable
by CelesteFitz
Summary: Beckett and Castle must race against the clock in order to save Kate's missing father before it is too late. Set a bit in the future. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi everyone! This is my first time writing a story on here even though I've read a whole bunch. I love to write and this is a great way for me to do so! So please critique away, I'm far from perfect and any constructive criticism in how to make my writing better would be great. I hope you'll stay with me and enjoy my first story!

Summary: Beckett and Castle must race against the clock in order to find Kate's missing father before it is too late. Set a bit in the future.

Chapter 1

Everything is perfect. The flowers are in full bloom, the ocean tide moves in and out peacefully; in fact everything about the scenery is sheer perfection, but Richard Castle couldn't care less. No, all he cares about is seeing his beautiful fiancée come down that aisle. They could have gotten married in a barn for all he cared. Alright, maybe not that extreme; barns are kind of smelly and Kate probably wouldn't have wanted a cow to be present at the wedding. While deep in his thoughts about how Kate would react to a barn wedding, Castle didn't even realize his daughter, Alexis, had entered his room.

"Planning something?" she asked. He jumped startled at the sound of her voice.

"Didn't I say I was getting you louder shoes?" he said.

"Yes," she replied, "And Kate said that you were being ridiculous and that I should be allowed to keep my ninja skills, it keeps you in check."

"This plotting against your dear father was supposed to end a while ago, and don't you roll your eyes like she taught you to! Next thing I know she's going to teach you the look too."

"She tried to teach me that one, but that's a special ability of Detective Beckett that I can't mimic. So, what do you think?" she asked referring to her bridesmaid dress.

"You look beautiful Pumpkin," he said proudly, "When did you grow up?"

"It's been a process for the last 19 years Dad."

"Oh right! I was there."

"Alright enough joking around, are you ready to get married?"

"I sure am, let's go get in position."

Meanwhile, Kate had just finished putting on her dress. It was the dress she always knew she'd wear, her mother's. She and her father had held each other and cried when she tried it on and she knew that no other dress could ever live up to it. Even though her mother couldn't be here, the dress made Kate feels close to her.

"Kate, you look breathtaking!" exclaimed Lanie, Kate's best friend and maid of honor.

"Do you think Rick will like it?" Kate asked nervously.

"Girl, he'd like it no matter what but like I said you look gorgeous in it. Damn I'm going to cry!" Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Yo chica, are you planning on taking all day or can we come in?"

"You can come in Javi!" replied Kate. In came Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan, the men who may as well be Kate's brothers.

"Hey Beckett!" the two said in unison.

"Kate, you look amazing," said Ryan, "Your mom would be proud."

"Yeah girl, Jenny's going to have to keep Ryan in check all night!"

"Espo!" exclaimed Lanie, "Don't make me kick you out of this room."

"I was just kidding! Seriously, you look incredible, Kate."

"Thanks, Javi and Kev. Hey, have you guys seen my dad?" asked Kate.

"Nope, maybe he's with Castle."

"I don't know, I just sent Alexis to go check on Castle and to get him ready so they can walk down together."

"Kate, I'm sure he's fine," said Lanie trying to calm her down.

"Right, he's fine. I'm being ridiculous. I just thought he would have come to see me by now."

"Do you want me to call him?" asked Ryan.

"No, don't feed into my irrational worrying. He'll be here soon."

"Alright, Javi and I better go get in place then. See you in a bit!"

10 minutes later, Kate was internally going into full blown hysterics. Where on earth could her father be? Castle's house in the Hampton's is big but he couldn't have gotten that lost. No one has seen him in hours, and he wouldn't have left without his only daughter's wedding. Lanie was still trying to keep Kate calm. Then, a knock came from the door. Rushing to it, Kate opened the door expecting an extremely apologetic father, but received a worried looking Martha.

"Katherine, let me in and sit down."

By now guests had arrived and Castle was to walk down the aisle with Alexis in just a matter of minutes. All of a sudden, a fearful Lanie ran up to the pair.

"Castle, you need to come see Kate now. I'll talk to everyone outside."

"Wait, what?" Rick asked confused, "I thought Kate said she was fine, is she seriously backing out now?!" He started to become angry. She had seemed so excited and happy about this.

"No that's not it, but she needs you right now, okay?" Lanie was obviously very concerned for Kate so Rick stopped questioning and ran to Kate's room. When he arrived he found his mother obviously trying very hard to calm a hysterical Kate. She was having a panic attack.

"Kate, love what's wrong?" he asked as he picked her up off the ground and cradled her to him. His mother went over to Alexis, who had followed her father in and whispered something in her ear. Alexis gasped.

"Sweetheart, please tell me what'd wrong," he begged. Kate managed to calm herself enough to speak, but her voice came out as a whisper that you expect to hear coming from a small child.

"They took him," she sobbed, "They took my father." It was then that Castle realized she was holding a note in her hand. Gently, he took it from her. He gasped as he read the crumpled, wet paper.

_Who will walk you down the aisle now?_

It was written in blood.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Wow! Thank you so much to all who read, reviewed, followed, or favorited! It means so much to me that you guys are reading my story! Wow okay that's three sentences in a row with exclamations…whoops. Alright to the point, here is the next chapter. And I will try to update as much as I can, but I am a senior in high school so this fall means lots of college applications, for which this story may get knocked down on the priorities list.**

**And I know I that I already mentioned this but to the people who reviewed, thank you thank you thank you! Your comments were so sweet and definitely got me to want to write this story even more!**

**Okay I'll stop talking now, here's the next chapter!**

**Nope, I don't own Castle**

Chapter 2

Jim Beckett slowly woke up and became aware of his surroundings hours later. He was in an empty, grey, cinderblock room with no windows and one large steel door. Terrified, he listened for any sound that could give him a hint as to where he was. He could hear nothing. He tried to piece together what could have happened. He had been with Katie last he remembers, wait! Her wedding!

"Katie?!" he called nervously, "Katie are you there?" It comforted him in a way that she wasn't with him. That meant she was safe, right? Even if she was safe, it was her wedding day and her own father wasn't there. What if she thought that he had abandoned her? Or worse, what if he had and he just doesn't remember it. His thoughts were broken by the sound of the large, steel door opening.

"Hello Jim. I'm glad you're finally awake," said the voice resonating from the open door.

"Who are you? Where am I?" shouted Jim.

"So many questions old man, none of which you've earned the answer to."

"Fine then, where is my daughter?" Jim interrogated, attempting to channel Katie.

"Oh she's physically fine for now. Maybe not so much emotionally, after all I did kidnap her father on her wedding day."

"Why? What do you want?"

"Why spoil the mystery, old man?" Jim's captor replied, "I may as well give you a clue to my identity, though. See my actions were quite possibly the best thing that has happened to your daughter in quite some time, but while she gained, I lost everything. Now I have some business to attend to so stay put, not that you have much of a choice." With that, the man slammed the door closed leaving a very confused Jim in his wake.

As he walked up the stairs he said to himself, "Oh my dear Detective Beckett, revenge is going to taste so sweet." When he reached the top of the staircase he opened another steel door which led to a room with multiple buttons and computers, one with a video playing. The video showed the inside of Richard Castle's house in the Hampton's from the eyes of the bug he managed to place unnoticed a week ago. On the screen he could see Castle comforting a sobbing Kate. Yes, everything was going according to plan.

*Setting Change to the Hampton's*

Kate's sobs had subsided enough that she was able to speak clearly. Castle, was still holding her and Martha and Alexis were standing on the other side of the room watching the couple. Esposito and Ryan had gone to Jim's room with CSU to start the investigation. Gates had already given them the all clear to investigate even though it was out of their jurisdiction. After speaking with CSU, Captain Gates came to talk to her finest detective. She softly knocked on the door which was answered by Alexis.

"Detec- Kate, when was the last time you saw your father?" she asked calmly yet confidently.

"Last night," Kate whispered, "He came to say goodnight to me after dinner. We talked right here for almost an hour."

"Do you know where he went next?"

"No, I just assumed he was going to his room to get some sleep. Gosh, I should have gone with him! This is all my fault!"

"Katherine, don't you dare blame yourself! There is no way that you or anyone else could have fathomed something like this happening," Martha interjected.

"Beckett, Ryan, Esposito, and I will work this case. I don't care if it isn't a homicide, this is the father of one of my people and we will get him back," said Gates.

"Thank you, sir," Kate replied, quietly. Then, Jenny entered the room.

"Kate? Kevin just had me come to tell you that he and Javi are going to be heading back to the city now so they can formally start the investigation at the precinct. Lanie also going so she can run some tests on the blood on the note."

"Thanks, Jenny. Can you tell Espo and Ryan thank you too? It means a lot to me that they're looking for him," said Kate.

"Sure. Sweetie we're going to find him, okay? Just like you told me when we didn't know where Kevin was. If you need anything just call," said Jenny. Then she turned and left to catch her husband and his partner before they left.

Castle glanced over at his mother and Alexis. Alexis was nearly in tears and Martha was holding her hand. He motioned to his mother to leave the room for a bit and get packed to leave. Silently, Martha nodded and went with Alexis to prepare to return to the city. Castle turned his attention back to Kate. "Tell me what you're thinking, Kate," he said.

"I'm thinking of when my dad got sober and he told me he would always be there for me. He got sober because he couldn't imagine leaving me alone any longer. He told me he couldn't imagine not being there when I got married," she sobbed out, "Rick, what am I going to do?"

"You are going to find him, you're not going to go rogue, you'll just follow that intuition of yours and find your father," he said, holding her closer.

"But what if…"

"No, Kate, do not think like that," he interrupted, "You helped me when Alexis went missing and now I'm helping you, and everything is going to turn out fine."

"I love you, Rick. Thank you."

"Always."

*Setting Change to Jim's kidnapper's location*

"I say it's time to make things interesting. After all, everyone loves a plot twist now don't they Richard Castle. Well here is yours." With that, he pushed the large red button sitting right in front of him. Oh yes, it was time to make things a little more, well, **explosive**.

**End Note**

**Yeah I know I hate myself too… Oh and that quote from the kidnapper to Jim about his identity was just as much a clue for Jim as it was for all of you. I wonder if you can guess my villain! Until next time!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you guys so much! I love seeing all your reviews and everything! It means so so so so so so SO much. Alright, here is the next chapter. I hope you enjoy and let me know if you do!**

"Can we go to my dad's room, Rick?" pondered Kate.

"Are you sure? It might be better to just…" began Rick.

"No," she interrupted. "I need to go in there. I need to be connected in finding him or I'll go crazy."

"Alright, we'll go." Castle and Kate changed out of their tux and dress into more comfortable clothes and headed for the guest room given to Jim Beckett. As they entered, Castle asked CSU to leave the room momentarily to give Kate a minute. They agreed and left the room.

"There's no sign of a struggle," Kate said, "But his phone is still here and he always has his phone on him. Ever since I joined the force he's been religious about always having his phone."

"What's this?" asked Castle as he pointed at a smudge on the carpet. Before Kate could answer, they heard three loud beeps echoing throughout the room.

"Castle, run!" shouted Kate as she pushed her fiancé out the door. Just as they reached the doorway, an explosion erupted and engulfed the entire room. Kate shielded Castle with her body just outside the room, keeping him from harm.

"Kate? Are you alright?" shouted Castle over the sound of the blaring smoke detector.

"I'll be fine, we've just got to get out now!" said Kate. While the explosion was confined to the room where Jim was staying, smoke had managed to reach outside the room and spread throughout the house. Castle pulled Kate under his arm, and they both walked as quickly as they could to reach fresh air. As they made it outside, they gasped for breath. Martha and Alexis were already outside along with the entire CSU team. Martha and Alexis ran to embrace the couple.

"Darlings are you alright?" asked Martha as she hugged her son and his fiancée.

"We're fine, Mother. We're just a little shaken."

"What happened? Does this have something to do with your dad, Kate?"

"I don't know for sure, Alexis," responded Kate, "But the explosion went off in his room. Everything, all the evidence is gone!"

"We don't know that it is all gone, Kate," Castle said, attempting to keep Kate optimistic, "Remember how much we were able to salvage from your apartment during the Scott Dunn case?"

"Castle, this is different though. Sure, we may be able to find where the explosion started but any clue he may have left, any DNA the person who took him may have left is gone!" Kate sobbed out. She turned and walked away. Alexis ran after her.

"Kate?! Kate wait!" shouted Alexis. As much as Kate didn't want the young woman to see her cry anymore, Kate turned to face her, tears streaming down her face. "Kate, you have to have some faith that we're going to find him. Remember when you and Dad had that case with no body? You still managed to solve that one! And you are going to solve this too."

"I don't know what to do," Kate whispered. Alexis reached out and hugged her.

"You just do what you're best at."

"Okay," said Kate as her detective façade began to return.

"Alright? Okay we should probably go back over to Dad and Grams. The fire department is probably here."

As Kate and Alexis returned, Rick looked worriedly over at the two women. They simultaneously nodded, silently telling him that everything was okay. The Chief of the Fire Department had already spoken to the CSU unit about what had happened and the other firefighters had managed to put the fire out already. One person from CSU came over to speak to Beckett.

"Detective Beckett, we're about to go back in the house to see if there is anything salvageable. If you'd like, you can head back to the city now and we can finish up here and report back to you when we return," the man offered.

"Thank you. That sounds like a good idea," replied Beckett, "Is that alright with all of you?" Martha, Alexis, and Castle all nodded.

It was time to go home.

*Setting Change to Jim's Kidnapper's location*

The man was highly satisfied with the outcome of his explosion. All evidence he may have left was now gone. This way he could control exactly what Detective Beckett learns about her father's location as well as when and how she learns it. Satisfied for the moment, the man left the room and headed towards Jim's. Jim was waiting by the door for him.

"Look, you are holding the father of one of the finest detectives of the NYPD. You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into," said Jim, trying yet again to channel Katie.

"Seriously? I know what I'm dealing with old man. I plan on enjoying every second of it," said the man, chuckling, "Now, get up and put your hands behind your back." Jim did as he said. The man slapped handcuffs on him. "It's time for a little field trip." The man led Jim up into his computer room.

"What is this?" asked Jim.

"This is a live video of your guest room," said the man pointing to the screen with a video of a burnt room.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Oh I just took care of some housekeeping. That's not what I brought you up here for, though. I brought you up to see this," said the man pointing to another live video of Kate and Castle driving.

"How do you have a video of my daughter and her fiancé? What did you do?!" shouted Jim.

"Oh my I have friends in high places, and this particular friend also happens to be my employer. See he needs answers and I need revenge, so we came to this arrangement."

"What arrangement?"

"You give me answers that my employer wants, or I hurt your daughter like I want."

Horrified, Jim began to shout, "Don't you lay a hand on Katie!"

"That all depends on you, Jim. Are you going to answer my questions or am I going to have to press this button?" asked the man as he pointed to another red button.

"I'll answer your questions; just leave my daughter and her fiancé out of this."

"Great. First question, how long have you been investigating your wife's murder without your daughter knowing?"

**End Note: It's less of a cliffhanger this time? Thanks for reading!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Happy Wednesday everybody! Thank you all so much as usual for all your reviews and thank you to everyone who read my last chapter! Just a little heads up, I'm not going to be able to update tomorrow, but I will try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, just not as quickly as usual. Sorry everybody! Alright I've said just about enough, Enjoy!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously:_

_"I'll answer your questions; just leave my daughter and her fiancé out of this."_

_"Great. First question, how long have you been investigating your wife's murder without your daughter knowing?"_

Chapter 4

"Ever since her shooting," answered an ashamed Jim as he sighed, "I knew it had something to do with what happened to Johanna. I wasn't about to lose my daughter the same way I lost my wife."

"How very touching," the man mocked, "Mr. Smith contacted you per Captain Montgomery's order, correct?"

"Yes."

"And what exactly did he tell you?"

"He said that the only way for me to protect Katie was to keep her away. He said he was telling Mr. Castle the same thing, but I asked for something in return. I asked him to let me see the evidence he was given. He agreed and we met about a week later. He gave me the file to look at for about five minutes and then left. I took what I had learned so that I would be able to understand what I was protecting Katie from."

"Really? Do you really expect me to believe that you found the man responsible for your wife's murder and your daughter's shooting and you did nothing?"

"No! If I acted on it I would be putting Katie in danger!"

"So then what is this?" asked the man pulling an envelope with a letter inside out for Jim to see.

"What is that?" asked Jim, immediately concerned.

"Oh please! You sent it to my employer! Senator William Bracken?"

"You work for Bracken?"

"Yes old man, I see that Katherine got her detective skills from her mother, not her father. Now stop trying to get off topic. Explain the letter."

"I've never seen it before in my life!"

"Oh please. Don't try to play me. I will kill your daughter and her fiancé."

"No! Please, I'm telling the truth!"

"Stop lying, old man! Do you think I'm not serious? Do you really want to play with dear Katie's life?!" the man shouted, his anger rising.

"I told you the truth! Please leave her alone!"

"That's it! Say goodbye to your daughter!" the man raised his hand and laid it on the button with every intention of pushing it.

"NO! PLEASE!"

"Three"

"Two"

"One!"

Before the man hit the button, his phone rang. Removing his hand from the button, he picked up his phone and read the text. He looked back up at Jim.

"You're going back to your room."

"Wait? What?" asked a confused Jim; he had been sure that the man was going to kill his daughter, what had stopped him?

"You heard me. You're going back to your room." The man shoved Jim out the door, down the stairs, and into his room. The man threw Jim onto the ground and slammed the door. Whatever the text said, the man was quite upset. And what was with that letter? Sure Jim had found out that Bracken was responsible for tearing his family apart, but he had never contacted him at risk of hurting Katie in the process. Oh Katie, she'll be so upset when she finds out what he kept from her. He could only hope that he'll get out and be able to apologize and make her understand why he did what he did. What was going on?

*Setting Change to the 12th Precinct*

Detectives Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan hadn't stopped to take a break since the father of the woman who was like their sister was taken. There was no way that they were going to be responsible for losing Kate's father. Sure she would never blame them, but they would never be able to forgive themselves. Currently, Esposito was on the phone with Lanie asking about the note and Ryan was looking into Jim's phone records and financials.

As Esposito hung up the phone, Ryan called out, "Hey Espo, did you get anything?"

"Just found that the blood on the note wasn't Jim's blood type."

"What?"

"I have no idea, it makes no sense. Did you find anything?"

"Nada," replied Ryan, "There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. What happens when Kate comes back and we only have more questions?"

"She'll helps find the answers," says Castle who just entered the room, "Kate is home getting some things together, she'll be here soon. What questions?"

"Well nothing is out of the ordinary with your dad's phone records or financials," said Ryan.

"But?" says Castle, "You can tell there is a but coming."

"The blood on the note isn't a match to Jim's."

"It's not?" asked Kate.

"No, it's a different blood type," replied Esposito.

"Well then what blood type was it?"

"Your dad is B positive, the blood on the note was O negative," said Esposito.

"O negative? Kate is O negative," said Castle hesitantly, "Oh my gosh!"

"Dude, what?" asked Espo.

"He's threatening Kate. He wants Kate."

**End Note: Thanks for reading! I promise Kate will be in the next chapter, I decided to give her a bit of a break. Again, I'll update as soon as I possibly can! Au Revoir!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: I'm so so so so so sorry for not updating! I got sick last week and it just all went downhill from there. I'm still not 100% so I'm sorry if this isn't my greatest chapter. Alright enough excuses, thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! Each of your reviews mean the world to me! Sooo here is the next chapter!**

**I don't own Castle**

_"The blood on the note isn't a match to Jim's."_

_"It's not?" asked Castle._

_"No, it's a different blood type," replied Esposito._

_"Well then what blood type was it?"_

_"Her dad is B positive, the blood on the note was O negative," said Esposito._

_"O negative? Kate is O negative," said Castle hesitantly, "Oh my gosh!"_

_"Dude, what?" asked Espo._

_"He's threatening Kate. He wants Kate."_

**Chapter 5**

Kate was at the loft changing into some of her work clothes. She figured if she dressed like it was any other day then maybe it would feel like one too. She knew it sounded ridiculous, but returning to normalcy was her way of coping. If she showed up to the precinct in the shorts and t-shirt she threw on after she took of her gown she would feel like a victim, not a detective. So Kate transformed into Detective Beckett. She had to stay strong with her father. While lost in her thoughts, her phone rang. Castle's name and picture lit up the screen.

"Hey Castle, I promise I'll be there soon," Kate said as she picked up the phone.

"No," Castle responded at the other end of the line, "Kate, I need you to stay at the loft, okay? I'm leaving the precinct now. Do not leave the loft."

"Wait, Castle what is going on?" Kate asked.

"I'll explain when I get there, just stay in the loft. Please? I love you Kate. I'll be there soon."

"I love you too," she responded as Castle ended the call. What did the boys find that got him so worried? What confused her so much was that he told her to stay in the loft. How was she supposed to help find her father cooped up at home? A knock came from the door. Kate tip toed over to the door. Castle's concerned made her a bit cautious of opening the door, but what if it was someone like Lanie who might have a lead for her. Kate snuck up to the door and looked out the peephole, something she usually did. Before she could even register who was at the door the person kicked open the door right into Kate. She fell back, hitting her head on the ground as she fell. The masked man above her then yanked her up by her hair and threw her onto the glass coffee table.

Lights out.

*Point of view change to Castle*

Right after Castle ended his phone call with Kate he jumped in a cab. He gave the driver his address so quickly he wasn't even sure the man heard him correctly. During his cab ride, he looked at his watch. It read 5:34. By now he and Kate would have been husband and wife. They would probably be holding each other tight as they slowly swayed across the dance floor. How could this have happened to them? Didn't they deserve their happy ending? After about a fifteen minute cab ride, the driver pulled up to Castle's apartment to open the door for anyone, but p at home? A knock came from the door. Kate ti He paid the driver and ran up to his building.

Eduardo greeted him in the lobby. Castle felt bad for not giving him a proper greeting back, but he was desperate to get to his fiancée. He needed to have her in his arms. It seemed like hours until the elevator reached his floor. When he reached his door, he felt his heart drop.

The door was open. He ran in.

"KATE!" he shouted. The coffee table was shattered and blood was mixed in with the glass. He ran around the house shouting her name. She had to be here. She had to be okay! He then tried to call her phone. "Come on Kate! Pick up, pick up, pick up!" It went to voicemail. He decided to leave a voicemail. "Kate? Kate, if you're okay please call me back. Okay? Kate, I love you. Please, honey, call me back." After he finished his voicemail, he noticed that he received a text from a restricted number.

_Sorry Kate can't talk right now. And no, she's not okay._

_~HT_

Rick collapsed to the ground and started sobbing. Where was his Kate? Who could have done this? Unbeknownst to him, Martha and Alexis had entered the room.

"Darling!" Martha exclaimed, "Richard, what's wrong?"

"Dad where's Kate?"

"They took her," he sobbed out as he handed his mother his phone. "My Kate is missing," he whispered. Martha left the room to call Ryan and Esposito as Alexis knelt down and embraced her father.

What was going on?

*Setting Change to Kidnapper's location*

Jim had finally fallen into a restless sleep when the large door opened again. Not fully awake, Jim could barely make out his captor's shape. He then realized the man was carrying something. It was Katie. The man tossed her onto the ground and Jim crawled as fast as he could to his only daughter. There were cuts all over her and she was unconscious.

"Katie? Katie please, wake up for me! Katie, its dad, wake up Katie!" Jim shouted as he stroked her hair and cradled her face. "What have you done to her?!" Jim shouted.

"You don't like my gift? What a pity. I thought you would have been happy to see your precious Katie. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"You are a demented, evil, sadistic person!"

"I'd watch what I say old man, you don't want me to take your Katie away forever now do ya?" With that, he laughed and left the room.

"Katie, honey I'm here. I'm going to keep you safe. Just please open your eyes," Jim begged as he continued to hold his daughter in his arms. "Please wake up, Katie. I need you here with me."

How could this happen?

**End note: So I promise I won't leave you hanging a week this time. And look! No cliffhanger! Until next time.**

**~CelesteFitz**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Happy Thursday everyone! I'm personally really happy it's Thursday because that means Grey's Anatomy in one week and Castle in just 4 days away! Okay I've freaked out enough about that, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. You guys are the best!**

**I don't own Castle**

_"I'd watch what I say old man, you don't want me to take your Katie away forever now do ya?" With that, he laughed and left the room._

_"Katie, honey I'm here. I'm going to keep you safe. Just please open your eyes," Jim begged as he continued to hold his daughter in his arms. "Please wake up, Katie. I need you here with me."_

_How could this happen?_

**Chapter 5**

*Inside the loft*

After Martha's call, Ryan and Esposito jumped in their car, turned the gumball on, and raced to the loft. Esposito didn't even bother to knock upon arrival. "What happened, Castle?" he said getting straight to business.

"I don't know. I…"

"No! You do not get to tell me that you don't know!" interrupted Esposito.

"Espo, calm down!" said Ryan, trying to get Esposito to stop projecting his anger onto Castle.

"You were coming home to keep her safe! So I'll ask again, what happened?" said Espo, ignoring Ryan.

"I called her on my way to a cab and she seemed fine. I told her to stay in the loft until I got home. When I did get here, the door was open and the coffee table was shattered. I called her and left a voicemail and then I got a text."

"What did it say?" asked Ryan.

"It said, 'Sorry Kate can't talk right now. And no, she's not okay.' Then my mother and Alexis came home and Mother called you."

"You were coming home to keep her safe Castle! How could you lose her like this!" shouted Espo. Kate was the closest thing to a little sister that he had, so even though he knew that he was being irrational to Castle, he couldn't help it. He needed his little sister home safe.

"Javi we are all hurting right now and worried about Kate, but taking it out on Castle is not going to help her. Go sit and calm down," said Ryan. He knew that Javi just needed time to compose himself before he could focus. Esposito complied and sat at the kitchen counter.

"He's right though, Ryan. If I had gotten home just a couple minutes sooner…" started Castle.

"Castle, shut up. No self-pity, alright? Let's get to work finding Kate and her dad. Did the text say anything else?" asked Ryan.

"Wait, yes it did. Darling don't you remember?" interjected Martha.

"Right!" shouted Rick. "It was signed HT."

"Alright, we'll start by going through any enemies Kate or Jim may have with the initials HT." Then, the captain walked in the door.

"What do we have people?" she asked.

"Kate was taken sometime between 5:44 and 5:57. Castle received a text from a HT after realizing that Kate was taken that read that Kate could not return his phone call and was not okay. We were just about to try to generate a list of people with the initials HT in Kate and Jim's lives," said Ryan.

"Also check to see if anyone Kate arrested has been recently released from prison," replied Gates.

"Yes, sir. Castle can you think of anyone with HT for initials?" asked Ryan.

"I can," piped up Alexis.

"Who, Alexis?" asked Esposito who had calmed down enough to join the investigation.

"The guy from Kate and Dad's first case. Wasn't his name something like Harry…" started Alexis.

"Harrison Tisdale! HT!" shouted Castle as he hugged his daughter.

"Ryan, check to see if he is still in jail," said Gates. Ryan opened up his laptop and began to search Harrison Tisdale.

"He escaped a month ago!"

"Looks like we're going to have to find a man on the run."

*Setting Change to Harrison Tisdale's location*

Jim didn't know how long he had been sitting there holding Kate. It felt like it had been hours. All he wanted was for his daughter to wake up. Sitting here, watching her, reminded him of visiting her in the hospital after her shooting. He thought it was unbearable then, but at least he had doctors to tell him exactly how she was doing. But now, he was literally and figuratively in the dark. Just then he heard a small sound escape Kate's mouth.

"Katie? Can you hear me, Katie? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me!" Kate's fingers weakly tried to squeeze his hand. She was waking up!

"That's it Katie! Can you open your eyes, sweetie? Come on Katie-Bug open your eyes for me." Her eyes slowly began to flutter open. Then, her green-brown eyes fully opened.

"Dad? You're okay?" Kate whispered weakly.

"I'm fine, Katie. You're the one I'm worried about," said Jim, finally able to breathe again now that Kate was awake. "Are you okay?"

"My head hurts, Dad. Can't stay awake," Kate mumbled as she closed her eyes.

"No! Katie! You need to keep your eyes open, honey. You probably have a concussion," said Jim as he lightly shook his daughter. She slowly opened her eyes again. "That's it. Do you remember when you got that concussion when you were thirteen?" he asked as he tried to keep her talking.

"You mean when Mom woke me up every two hours for a week?" asked Kate as she lightly chuckled at the memory. Johanna Beckett was famous for making everyone else follow doctor's orders to the max, while she herself hated to. Kate got her hatred of hospitals from her mother.

"Oh it was not for a week!" laughed Jim.

"You didn't have to live through it, so how would you know?" said Kate as she lightly smiled. "Dad?"

"Yes Katie?"

"What happened?"

"I don't remember. I remember leaving your room that night and then I woke up here."

Before Kate could say anything back, their captor, Harrison Tisdale, came in.

"Ah, Kate! You're awake! What a shame, this is going to hurt."

**End Note: Well everyone thanks for reading and please review! Until next time!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: Sooo everyone, wasn't the premiere AMAZING! It was so worth the wait! Alright so here is the next chapter, hope you enjoy! And as always, thank you so very much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. You guys rock my socks.**

**I don't own Castle**

_"What happened?"_

_"I don't remember. I remember leaving your room that night and then I woke up here."_

_Before Kate could say anything back, their captor, Harrison Tisdale, came in._

_"Ah, Kate! You're awake! What a shame, this is going to hurt."_

**Chapter 7**

"You stay away from her!" shouted Jim.

"Dad, stop. Don't get yourself into trouble," whispered Kate.

"Yeah old man, listen to your little girl," mocked Tisdale. He then yanked Kate to her feet by her hair. Still concussed, Kate nearly collapsed from the sudden movement. "Follow me Jim. One attempt to escape and I will kill her, are we clear?" Jim just nodded.

Harrison led them to a room next to the one that they were being held in before. Inside the room was a chair with straps. Tisdale threw Kate into the chair and strapped her to it. He then pulled out a knife. "Alright Beckett's, it is time for a little game. It's called Truth or Dare. It's a little different than the truth or dare played at a preteen's sleepover. See in my version, I will ask you, Jim, a question. You will give me the truth or you will dare me to use my knife on Katie here. In other words if you don't answer my question truthfully or if you try to give me trouble, Katie gets cut."

"What? No!" started Jim.

"Dad, please. Just do what he says," said Kate, still kind of out of it. She figured that as long as Tisdale was focused on her and as long as her dad did what he said to do her dad would be kept out of harm. There was no way she was letting her dad get hurt on her watch.

"I'm telling you old man, you need to start listening to your daughter," said Tisdale as he took his knife and cut Kate from her shoulder to her elbow. It wasn't that deep, but it hurt like nothing else. Kate tried to bite her bottom lip to stop herself from crying out in pain, but a gasp still came out and a few tears fell.

"Are we clear now?" asked Tisdale threateningly.

"Yes, just please leave her alone."

"Alright then, my first question which I already know the answer to, but Katie here doesn't. So Jim, would you mind telling me again how long you have been investigating the murder of Johanna Beckett?" Kate gasped as Jim looked down at his feet.

"Katie, I'm so sorry. I… I didn't mean for you to find out this way," said Jim.

"You're not answering the question!" shouted Tisdale as he pressed the knife to Kate's throat.

"No please! Katie, I started looking into her murder after your shooting. I couldn't imagine going through nearly losing you again. I had to protect you!" said Jim quickly. Tears were now free falling down Kate's face.

"Now tell her about the letter that you sent to Bracken."

"Letter? I already told you I know nothing about that letter! I don't even know what it says!" Tisdale took is knife and cut into Kate's leg, deeper this time. Kate cried out loudly.

"Old man I have had enough! You told Bracken that you had enough evidence to expose him which was exactly what you planned to do after the wedding!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about! I never sent that letter and I don't have enough evidence to convict Bracken!"

"STOP LYING!" shouted Tisdale as he cut into Kate's other shoulder. Kate cried out again. Jim couldn't take this anymore, but he truly had never heard about this letter. He started trying to form a story, channeling his future son-in-law, but unfortunately all he could think of was his daughter sobbing in pain two feet from him and the bloody knife in Tisdale's hand.

"Fine! I… I threatened Bracken with evidence that I have at my apartment. In… it's all in my home office," Jim stuttered out. He wished as soon as the words came out that he was a better liar.

"LIES! WE ALREADY SEARCHED YOUR APARTMENT! YOU DON'T HAVE A HOME OFFICE!" screamed Tisdale. His rage could no longer be contained and he took his knife and rammed it into Kate's stomach. Kate and Jim screamed simultaneously, Kate from pain and Jim from fear for his daughter. Tisdale then threw Kate and her chair into the wall, knocking her unconscious. He stormed out of the room.

"Katie!" shouted Jim as he ran over and unstrapped his unconscious daughter. He pulled her head into his lap and put pressure on the stab wound on her stomach. "I'm so sorry, Katie! I'm so sorry. Please be okay. Please Katie," he whispered to her.

What had he done?

*Setting Change to the Loft*

"Do we have a location yet?" asked Gates.

"I've multiple addresses under Alison Tisdale, his deceased sister. There's an apartment in the city and some older home upstate," responded Ryan.

"He wouldn't keep her in that apartment," said Castle. "That apartment was his sister's crime scene. Do you remember all the windows in that place? He wouldn't keep them captive there."

"Very true, Mr. Castle, but I'll have uniforms check it just in case. Ryan, Esposito, you, and I will all head to his house upstate with a team. Let's go."

They all left. Castle went with the captain in her car. On the way he started looking through photos on his phone. He smiled lightly at the picture of Kate sitting across from him at Remy's. She had her favorite strawberry milkshake in front of her. He could remember taking that picture like it was yesterday. They had just had a particularly rough case so he blindfolded her, drove her to Remy's, and surprised her with the shake. Her smile was so contagious. Oh how he needed her in his arms. He begged to whoever could hear him that she would be at this house and that she and her contagious smile would come home unharmed. The captain seemed to notice Castle's distress.

"We're going to find her, Mr. Castle. You just need to keep faith. Just keep thinking of her walking out of that house perfectly fine with her dad. You need to stay positive for them." He knew she was right.

He just would never admit it.

*Setting change to Tisdale's location*

Tisdale was alerted by his employer, Bracken, the minute that Gates and the rest of the team left the loft. Tisdale scrambled to grab his bag with the knife he had used and the syringe he had used to drug Jim and ran out the door. He didn't give a thought to the injured detective and her father below him. The team would probably be too late anyway. He got in his truck and sped away.

**End note: Thanks for reading! Until next time my dears!**

**~CelesteFitz **


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hey everybody! Happy Wednesday, just think half way through the week! Thank you a million bajillion times to everybody who read and reviewed for the last chapter. You guys are the bee's knees. Enjoy the next chapter!**

**And to TORONTOSUN, I wasn't a big Pi fan either; glad I'm not the only one! And I'm super jealous of all you guys in Canada who get to watch on Sunday. Like ridiculously envious.**

**I don't own Castle**

_Tisdale was alerted by his employer, Bracken, the minute that Gates and the rest of the team left the loft. Tisdale scrambled to grab his bag with the knife he had used and the syringe he had used to drug Jim and ran out the door. He didn't give a thought to the injured detective and her father below him. The team would probably be too late anyway. He got in his truck and sped away._

**Chapter 8**

Castle, Ryan, Esposito, Gates, and some uniforms all arrived on the scene about 10 minutes after Harrison had escaped. Upon getting out of the car, Esposito immediately noticed the tread marks on the driveway. "Looks like someone got out of here in a hurry," he pointed out.

"Okay everyone. Here's the plan. Esposito, Ryan, and I will all lead into the house followed by you three uniforms," started Gates. "If we come to a staircase, Ryan will take the upstairs, Esposito will take the lower floor, and I'll stay on the ground. Uniforms will split up the same. LT, stay with Mr. Castle."

"No," stated Castle; the tone of his voice left no room for question. "There is no way that I am going to stay out here while Kate and her dad might be in there. I am not waiting any longer not knowing whether or not they're okay. I'm coming with."

"No, you are not going in Mr. Castle. If we need you, we will come and get you," said Gates. "You need to stay put." She left before he could respond. She had her reasons. She had seen a drop of blood on the driveway, and if Kate or her father were hurt, she needed to be able to prepare the writer before he saw them. She silently prayed that what she was actually overreacting and that they were fine, but her training told her otherwise.

The team, minus Castle and LT, stopped at the front door. Espo signaled with his fingers 3…2…1, and Ryan kicked down the door shouting NYPD. The team rushed in and approached a staircase. Ryan went up and a few seconds later he shouted "Clear!" Gates, who had been walking around the ground floor, then shouted "Clear!" after her sweep. Esposito was last. He quickly made his way down the stairs and came to two large doors. The first door had an empty room. While he looked around the room, he heard someone whispering from the room next door. Slowly he pulled out his gun and headed towards the door.

"NYPD! Let me see your hands!" Esposito shouted to the dark room. Then he gasped. He saw Jim, whose hands were covered in blood, holding an unconscious Kate in his arms. "GATES! THEY'RE DOWN HERE! BECKETT'S DOWN!" He ran to the woman who was like his sister, kneeling at her side, picking up her wrist, trying to feel for a pulse. He found one, weak, but she was holding on. "Stay with us Kate. Come on Becks," he whispered. Gates and Ryan had entered the room by then.

"Mr. Beckett! What happened?" shouted Gates as she signaled for one of the uniforms to call an ambulance.

"He…he just he stabbed her," sobbed Jim. "She's going to be okay, right? Please tell me that my Katie's going to be okay!"

"The ambulance is on its way Mr. Beckett. Just keep putting pressure on the wound." Gates knelt next to Jim. The uniform returned.

"Captain? Ambulance will be here in two minutes."

"Thank you Officer Redding, can you go watch for the ambulance? Ryan and Esposito, go talk to Castle."

"No. I'm staying here with Kate. I'm not going to leave her," said Esposito not looking up from the injured detectives face. He hadn't let go of her hand since he'd found her.

"I'll got talk to Castle, Sir," said Ryan. As much as Ryan wanted to stay with Kate, he knew that Castle needed him just as much. He ran up the stairs with Officer Redding. As he stepped outside, Castle immediately ran over to him.

"Where are they? Where's Kate? Why aren't they with you? Ryan!" Castle said all in one breath.

"Castle, please, let me talk."

"Kevin, please, where's my Kate?"

"She's in the basement. She was stabbed."

"Oh my God. Kate, no. No, you're lying! Kate!" Castle sobbed as he nearly collapsed. "I need to see her. Kevin let me in the house!"

"Rick, there are already too many people in there. Gates, Javi, and her dad are taking care of her and look," said Ryan as he pointed to the road. Two ambulances were pulling up. "They're going to take care of her. You can ride with her in the ambulance, though. Jim will be in the other one just in case he has minor injuries to be looked at."

The paramedics rushed into the house and were back out within two minutes with Kate on a gurney. Castle ran after her and hopped in the ambulance. He grabbed her hand and stroked her hair as the paramedics started an IV.

"Sweetheart? Kate can you hear me? Kate, please stay with me baby. Don't leave me. I promise I will give you the most beautiful wedding, just please stay with me, Kate. I love you. I love you so much. Please wake up, Kate!" he sobbed to his unconscious fiancée.

The ambulance sirens turned on and they sped off to the hospital. Gates went along with Jim, who was having a panic attack from being separated from his daughter. Esposito and Ryan followed the two ambulances. Ryan looked over at his partner who was in tears.

She had to pull through this.

**End Note: Thanks for reading! And don't forget to review! Each of your reviews make my day :) Until next time!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: WOW! Thank you to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter! I'm thrilled that you all are enjoying reading the story as much as I am enjoying writing it! You're all so sweet :) So it's just your luck that I got sick so you all get a chapter a little earlier than I anticipated. Apparently the universe didn't enjoy my cliffhanger. So here's the next chapter!**

_The ambulance sirens turned on and they sped off to the hospital. Gates went along with Jim, who was having a panic attack from being separated from his daughter. Esposito and Ryan followed the two ambulances. Ryan looked over at his partner who was in tears._

_She had to pull through this._

**Chapter 9**

Lanie was very annoyed with Detective Javier Esposito. It had been two and a half hours after Espo, Ryan, and Gates had left the loft and she hadn't heard one word since. She could not stand sitting here in Kate's home not knowing where she was. Jenny, Martha, and Alexis were all with her. Jenny was in the kitchen making everybody dinner, but Lanie had no appetite. She looked down at her phone for what felt like the thousandth time. And no, she hasn't missed a call or a text…again. Alexis left her grandmother's side to help Jenny. Martha shifted over to Lanie.

"Lanie? Staring at that phone is not going to make him call."

"Oh I know, I just can't stand this waiting. No news is good news, though, right?"

"I hope so my dear, I truly hope so," responded Martha. On the inside, she was just as panicked as Lanie. Kate had become like the daughter she never had. She had never had that kind of relationship with any of her son's ex-wives. And Jim, Jim and Martha may have had a rough start what with their differences in what they see as entertainment, but throughout their children's engagement, the two had become very good friends. She didn't think that she could survive the loss of either of them.

Then, Jenny's phone rang. Jenny raced for her phone and picked it up as quickly as she could. "Kevin?" she asked nervously.

"Jen! Jenny are you still with Martha, Alexis, and Lanie?" asked Ryan over the phone.

"Yeah we're all still at the loft. Did you find them?" she asked as the three other women in the room huddled closely around her.

"Yeah…uh we found them. But, um, Kate's in bad shape." Oh no. Jenny could hear the tears in her husband's voice. "But Castle's with her and both her and her dad are on their way to Presbyterian right now. Can you all meet us there?"

"Of course, we'll leave right now. I love you."

"I love you too, Jen."

She hung up the phone and turned to the other people in the room. They didn't need any words, they all just piled into Jenny's car.

*Setting Change to Jim's Ambulance*

"Sir! Please I need you to stay still for me! We need to start an IV, you are severely dehydrated," said the paramedic.

"I don't care, is my daughter okay? Where is she?"

"Mr. Beckett, she's in the other ambulance. They're taking care of her but right now we have to take care of you too," reasoned Gates.

"I'm fine!"

"Sir, you're very dehydrated right now. Please let us take care of you," said the paramedic.

"Mr. Beckett, you can't see your daughter and help her if you're dehydrated. If you want to be able to see her, you need to let them take care of you."

"Fine." The paramedic was finally able to start his IV. The ambulance arrived at the hospital and Jim was taken to the ER to be admitted. Gates followed along. Jim was settled in a room, still attached to the IV. He turned to Gates. "Katie's going to be alright, right?"

"You just have to keep hope, Jim. She's my finest detective, there's no way she's going down without a fight."

Jim broke down again.

*Kate's Ambulance*

Kate was still unconscious, and her blood pressure was dangerously low. The paramedic had placed an oxygen mask over her face to attempt to stabilize her breathing. Castle was still whispering her and holding her hand. They pulled up to the hospital. As they unloaded her, she began to have a seizure. The paramedics ran with her gurney into the ER. Castle ran with.

"KATE!" he shouted.

"Sir," started the paramedic, "I need you to stay in the waiting room and let us do our job. If you want us to save your fiancée you have to let us do our job." Then they all ran off into the long hallway.

Castle walked toward the waiting room. He was greeted by everyone else who had already arrived. He sat down next to his daughter and mother.

"Darling, how is Katherine?" asked Martha, who was the first to find her voice.

"She, um, she had a seizure when we got to the hospital," said Castle in a low voice. Alexis rested her head on her father's shoulder and held his hand.

"She's going to be okay, right Dad?" asked Alexis.

No one spoke. No one had the words.

When would this nightmare end?

*Setting Change to Bracken's Office*

Harrison Tisdale slowly entered Senator William Bracken's office.

"Come in, Tisdale," said Bracken. "Well?"

"The police found my location."

Bracken glared at the man in front of him. "Did you at least get the evidence from them?"

"No, he denied having any."

"Well then did how did you deal with them?"

"I, um, when he wouldn't tell me where his evidence was I stabbed her."

Bracken smiled. "You killed her? She's dead?"

"Umm, well I don't actually know."

"You. Don't. Know?" started Bracken as his face turned a shade of purple. "How do you not know whether or not you killed someone?!"

"I…I left after I stabbed her. I was going to go back and finish the job and kill the father too but then then her team found my location. I had to get out before they saw me."

"So you left them there alive? YOU FOOL! What are you planning to do when they talk?!"

"They won't. She's probably going to die anyway! And we can deal with the father later!"

"WE?! Oh no. There is no we. You failed and now I'm going to be exposed!" Filled with rage, Bracken took his gun out of his desk and shot Tisdale.

He was going to have to deal with the Beckett's himself.

**End Note: And there you have it! Please remember to review :) Until next time!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Happy Friday everyone! So before I dive into this chapter, I just wanted to say that I am in no way a medical expert. All my medical knowledge comes from watching Grey's Anatomy, so yeah I have none. I apologize for any mistakes I make concerning anything medical. So yeah, be gentle. Alright everyone, here is the next chapter! And as always, thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. :)**

**I don't own Castle**

_"So you left them there alive? YOU FOOL! What are you planning to do when they talk?!"_

_"They won't. She's probably going to die anyway! And we can deal with the father later!"_

_"WE?! Oh no. There is no we. You failed and now I'm going to be exposed!" Filled with rage, Bracken took his gun out of his desk and shot Tisdale._

_He was going to have to deal with the Beckett's himself._

**Chapter 10**

Martha entered Jim's hospital room a couple hours later. Captain Gates was still in the room as well. Jim looked up when he heard the door open, and once he saw Martha, he started rattling of his questions.

"Martha! How is she? Is she awake? When can I get out of here?" he asked.

"Oh Jim, I wish I had the answers. We still haven't heard anything on Katherine," said Martha. She wished that she could give just some sort of good news to him. "How are you doing though?"

"I'm still a little dizzy," admitted Jim.

"Well seeing as you won't be released for sometime, I'll stay here with you so Captain Gates can be with her people."

"Oh no, Martha. I can stay here, it's no bother staying here," said Gates.

"I never meant it like that, Captain," said Martha, "I just meant that your team needs you out there. They're falling apart."

"Alright, Jim you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine, go take care of Kevin and Javier," said Jim. He knew how close Ryan and Esposito were to his daughter, and he knew that they needed their strong captain to keep them together. Captain Gates left the room. Martha walked to Jim's bedside.

"How are you holding up? And really this time, don't you tell me that you're doing just fine," said Martha.

Jim let out a sigh. "Truthfully? I can't breathe."

Martha took his hand. "Neither can I, Jim. Neither can I."

*Waiting Room*

It had been five hours since they had arrived at the hospital. Five hours with no news. Five hours with no Beckett. Then, a doctor finally came into the room. "Family of Katherine Beckett?" he asked. The seven people in the room jumped up and surrounded the doctor. "Woah, woah! I can only talk to a Jim Beckett or a Richard Castle according to her chart."

Castle spoke up for the first time in hours, "I'm Richard Castle. Kate is my fiancée. How is she?"

"Before I start, she's alive and in the ICU." Everyone let out a breath. "As far as her minor injuries, we stitched up the cuts on her arm, shoulder, and leg. Those should heal just fine. The stab wound on her stomach was much more severe. The knife punctured her spleen. We were unable to stop the bleeding so we had to perform a complete splenectomy."

"Lanie, what does that mean?" interrupted Castle.

"They had to remove her spleen, Castle let the doctor finish," Lanie replied.

"She also has a severe concussion," the doctor continued. "Now like I said, she is alive and in ICU, but during surgery, she slipped into a coma." Alexis grabbed her father's hand as she saw the tears begin to form in his eyes.

"When…when will she wake up?" asked Castle quietly.

"We don't know, sir," said the doctor sadly.

"Can I see her?"

"I'm afraid only family can visit her right now." Then, the room erupted.

"We are her family! And don't you dare try to say otherwise!" shouted Esposito.

"Sir, I'm sorry but none of you qualify as her family at this hospital."

"She only has one living family member and he's being treated at your hospital at the moment. You expect for us to just leave her alone?!" Ryan shouted. Jenny grabbed his arm in an attempt to calm her husband. Then someone else entered the room. Someone that Castle had hoped to never see again.

"What is going on in here?" asked Doctor Josh Davidson.

"Davidson," started the doctor, "These people refuse to listen to me."

"Detectives Ryan and Esposito? Castle? What are you all doing here?"

"Kate, she was kidnapped and stabbed and your colleague won't let us see her," said Esposito.

"Where's her father?"

"He's is being treated for dehydration," said Lanie.

"Johnson, for heaven's sake, let at least Castle, Ryan, and Esposito see her. Ryan and Esposito may as well be her brothers and Castle is almost her husband anyway."

"It's against policy!"

"And? Blame me. I'm sure they'll fire me for making sure a patient was comfortable. What room is she in?"

"342," said Johnson.

"Castle, Ryan, and Esposito, follow me," said Josh. "Everybody else can go home until she can have more visitors." They all said their goodbyes and then Ryan, Esposito, and Castle followed Josh. They stopped outside of Kate's room. Ryan and Esposito went in while Castle stayed out to talk to Josh.

"Why are you doing this, Josh?"

"Look, Castle. I knew when she left me that she was in love with you. Did it hurt, yes. But that doesn't mean I want to see her suffer. I wasn't going to let her stay in there by herself. We broke up amicably, so why wouldn't I help her? You might not be my favorite person, but she loves you and I want her to be happy."

"Thank you for everything, Josh."

"Just go make her happy," said Josh, and then he left. Castle entered Kate's room.

"Oh Kate," Castle gasped at as he entered the room. Ryan and Esposito were sitting in chairs on either side of her bed. She had bandages on both of her arms and one on her forehead. She was still hooked up to the ventilator which was helping her to breathe. She was as pale as the sheets on the bed, but she was still just as beautiful to Castle. Ryan moved over to Esposito's side of the room to give Castle space by her bedside. Castle sat down and took her cold hand in both of his. He leant down and kissed her forehead and then her cheek. Then he whispered to her, "Kate, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can I love you. I love you so much, and you are going to wake up and you are going to be okay. Alright? And then we'll get married and I'll whisk you of to Hawaii like we had planned. You just have to wake up. Just wake up, Kate."

**End Note: And there we go! So about the Josh part, I hate Josh just as much as the rest of the Castle fandom, but I mean he wasn't a completely awful person! So I felt like there needed to be some sort of closure to the Josh story that we never got in Rise. But, hey for all I know he's actually a serial killer. Alright, until next time!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Hey Guys! Did everyone like last night's episode? I'm so happy that all my shows are back! Alright, so here is the next chapter. As always, thanks a zillion to all you who reviewed and read the last chapter. Ya'll make me smile!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: He leant down and kissed her forehead and then her cheek. Then he whispered to her, "Kate, I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can I love you. I love you so much, and you are going to wake up and you are going to be okay. Alright? And then we'll get married and I'll whisk you of to Hawaii like we had planned. You just have to wake up. Just wake up, Kate."_

**Chapter 11**

Bracken had been through way too many hit men. First, there was Coonan. Coonan was by no means useless, in fact Bracken had been able to use him quite a bit over more than a decade, but then he met Kate Beckett and that writer. She had managed to take down Coonan, Lockwood, and Maddox, all of whom were exceptional at what they did. Since none of them were able to take her down, he figured that he needed someone with a personal connection to both Beckett and her shadow.

Tisdale was perfect. He was connected enough to the two of them that he knew their weaknesses but distant enough to not be an obvious suspect. He was able to bribe a couple people at the prison and break Tisdale out weeks ago. Bracken had given Tisdale his freedom, but Tisdale hadn't followed through so he had to be done away with. This list of three had become four. Instead of adding to the list, Bracken was going to do what he should have done years ago, kill the two remaining Beckett's himself.

His plan had to be perfect. One loophole and he would surely be finished. Richard Castle was that loophole. Sure, Bracken could get rid of the Beckett's, but would Castle then come after him to avenge is fiancée. Bracken was positive he would. So he planned to kill two birds with one stone. His plan ensured that the Beckett's would be gone and it would appear to be all Castle's fault. The guilt would destroy him.

Now all he needed was some bait. He couldn't use Kate and Jim, they were the target. He needed two different people close to the writer, like perhaps his mother and daughter? Yes, Martha Rodgers and Alexis Castle were perfect.

Let the games begin.

* * *

"Alright Mr. Beckett, we've observed you for the full 24 hours and you seem to be doing fine. We can release you now," the doctor informed Jim.

"Great, so I can go see my daughter right now?"

"You can go see your daughter right now," replied the doctor. Then, Castle entered the room.

"Hey Jim, I heard you were getting released and I came to get you to take you to Kate's," said Castle, "Are you ready?"

"I'm more than ready." After few minutes later, all the papers had been signed and Jim and Castle were walking up to ICU. "Is…umm…is she…how bad is it?"

"She's better than she was earlier. She's breathing on her own so she's off of the ventilator, but she's still in a coma and they don't know when she'll wake up. She still has a long way to go," said Rick sadly. He wished that he had better news for her father.

"She's a fighter. She'll be okay," said Jim, but in truth he wasn't so sure. They stopped outside of her door.

"Jim, just brace yourself, okay? It's not going to be easy seeing her like this." Jim nodded as to say that he understood and that he was ready. But he wasn't. As Castle opened the door Jim gasped, "Katie?" He turned around and dashed out of the room.

"Jim!" Castle yelled after him. Castle ran after him. Jim had made it outside before Castle caught up to him. Jim collapsed onto a bench.

"I can't. I can't be in there. I can't. I'm not strong like Katie," sobbed out Jim. Castle sat down next to the older man.

"You're not as strong as Kate? Jim, her strength had to come from somewhere."

"Johanna, she gets it from Jo."

"Maybe, but from what I've seen I'd argue she gets it from you. You were the only one who was there for her when she was recovering after getting shot. That couldn't have been easy," said Castle. "Jim, you are strong. You can do this."

"Katie has you, she won't need me."

"Jim, she will always need you. You're her father. No one could ever replace you. Now what is this really about?" asked Castle. He could tell that there was something else eating away at Jim.

"I can't fail her again." Jim whispered.

"Fail her?"

"I failed her when Jo died and I left my nineteen year old daughter to grieve by herself. I failed her when she had to arrest me for public intoxication. I failed her when I ruined her wedding day. I failed her when I couldn't save her from Tisdale. How could I not fail her now?"

"Would you do anything for her?" asked Castle.

"What?"

"I said, would you do anything for her?"

"Without a second thought. She's my little girl," responded Jim.

"Then you could never fail her," said Castle with a smile. "Okay?"

Jim let out a sigh. "Okay," he responded. He and Castle stood up and walked back into the hospital. Castle entered Kate's room first and told Jim to take his time. "I'm ready. I'm right behind you," said Jim.

They entered the room and sat on either side of Kate's bed. Jim hesitantly took her hand. Once he did, though, he felt a thousand times better. Then, the best thing that had happened in three days happened.

Kate's eyes fluttered.

She was waking up.

"Dad?"

* * *

Martha and Alexis were sitting in the kitchen going through pictures. After Kate had officially moved into the loft, she gave her apartment to Martha so that Martha could have her own space which also wasn't far from the loft. Then a knock came from the front door. Martha opened it.

"Good afternoon ladies," said Senator William H. Bracken.

**End Note: And that's a wrap for now! Please leave a review! See you guys next time!**

**~CelesteFitz**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: Hello my dears! Happy Wednesday to everyone! Thank you thank you THANK YOU to all of you who reviewed and read for the last chapter. 7 reviews is unheard of! You guys rock. Alrighty then, to the point, here is the next chapter.**

**I don't own Castle, and seeing as I keep torturing these poor people I think that's a good thing.**

_Previously__**: **__Martha and Alexis were sitting in the kitchen going through pictures. After Kate had officially moved into the loft, she gave her apartment to Martha so that Martha could have her own space which also wasn't far from the loft. Then a knock came from the front door. Martha opened it._

_"Good afternoon ladies," said Senator William H. Bracken._

**Chapter 12**

"Dad? Castle?"

"Oh Kate, it's so good to hear your voice," said Castle as he kissed her cheek.

"You had us worried there for a bit, Katie-Bug," said Jim as he smiled at his daughter.

"Are you okay, Dad?"

"Fine, I was just a bit dehydrated and they observed me for the night," he reassured her. Then, a doctor entered the room.

"Ah Ms. Beckett! It's good to see you awake," he said, "Oh, hello Mr. Castle." The doctor was still quite bitter over the visitation issue and made it known every time that he came to check on Kate.

"It's good to be awake. So what's the damage?" asked Kate.

"The cuts on your shoulder, arm, and leg were all stitched up and shouldn't be an issue. Your more serious injuries are your severe concussion from being knocked out twice and your stab wound to the abdomen. We took you to surgery when you arrived and began to work on your spleen which was punctured by the knife. Unfortunately, we were unable to stop the bleeding so we had to perform a splenectomy."

"You removed my spleen?" asked a shocked Kate.

"Yes, it was the only way save your life."

"Huh, well that's why it feels like something is missing," joked Kate as she tried to lighten the mood. Castle chuckled but the doctor was not amused.

"Ms. Beckett this isn't something to take lightly," said the doctor angrily.

"I know, but if there's one thing my fiancé has taught me, it's how to lighten the mood," said Kate as she smiled at Castle.

"How drugged up are you, Detective Beckett?" asked Castle.

"Very, and concussed as well," she said with a smile. The doctor left, he had had enough for the time being. "Good job, Castle. You've managed to scare the doctor out of my room."

"It takes two to tango, my dear," said Jim, advocating for his future son-in-law. Castle burst into laughter.

"Really, Dad? Going against your only child?" Then they heard three loud bangs from the hallway outside. They were gunshots. Castle immediately picked his fiancée off of her bed bridal style. She cried out in pain from the sudden movement. He took her and ducked under the bed. Jim scooted over to the two of them and took his daughter's hand.

"Castle?" whispered Kate.

"Shh, Kate just stay quiet," Castle whispered back. To their horror, the door opened.

"Oh look! We're laying hide and seek!" said a voice all three knew belonged to Senator William Bracken. He came around the bed so he was facing Jim, Castle, and Beckett.

"Found you, I win," said Bracken with a sinister smile. It was then that they realized that Bracken had two other people with him. Martha and Alexis were handcuffed behind Bracken.

"Mother? Alexis?" asked Castle.

"Katherine, darling, you're awake!" said Martha who was not up for the role of damsel in distress. Martha Rodgers much preferred playing the leading lady.

"Martha, I'm so sorry-" started Kate.

"Okay that's enough reunion. By now they're coming after me so let me get to the point. Mr. Castle has a choice to make. I will let you take two people out of this room alive, Mr. Castle. Either Martha and Alexis or Kate and Jim. You cannot mix up the group, they are a package deal. If you do not choose, I just kill them all."

"Daddy?" cried Alexis.

Castle looked up at Bracken in horror. "Choose? I can't do that! And the police are on their way so why don't you just leave while you can, Senator?"

"Because this is more fun. You have thirty seconds," laughed Bracken.

"But-I…" stuttered Castle.

"Castle, it's okay," said a tearful Kate, "Get Martha and Alexis out of here, they haven't done anything, they're not even connected to this case. Get them out. It's okay."

"No, Kate it's not!" sobbed Castle, "Kate I can't live without you."

"Castle, you need to think of your daughter and mother right now, okay? Please Castle, get them out of here."

"Time is ticking Mr. Castle."

Jim placed his hand on Castle's shoulder. "Remember just a half an hour ago when you asked me if I would do anything for my daughter? Now I'm asking you the same. You need to do your duty as a father and get your daughter out. I'll protect mine in here." Kate squeezed her father's hand.

"Time is up, I need a decision," said Bracken with a smirk.

Castle looked down at Kate who was still in his arms and Jim who was clutching his daughter's hand. Martha and Alexis were silently crying behind Bracken.

"It's okay, Rick. You can do this," said Kate.

"I…I need to take my daughter to safety," sobbed Castle.

"Good choice. Take your mother and daughter and get out now," said Bracken smiling. His plan was going exactly as planned.

Castle looked down at Kate again. She straightened up, even though it caused massive pain, and kissed him. He held her close as he kissed her back. She could feel the tears on his face.

"I love you, Rick. You've made me happier than I ever thought I could be," she said.

"I love you, Kate. I love you so much," he responded.

"That's enough! You've said your goodbyes," said Bracken as he yanked Castle to his feet and pushed him towards the door. Castle joined Martha and Alexis and began to leave the room. When he got to the door he looked back at his beautiful detective.

She mouthed to him, "Always".

He responded, "Always, Kate, always." And then he left the room. He left his detective. His partner. His fiancée. The love of his life. He began to usher his mother and daughter out of the hospital to safety when he heard two gunshots and a loud thud.

He stopped in his tracks. "Mother, get Alexis out!" he called as he ran back to the room.

He collapsed to the ground sobbing when he saw what was behind the door.

**End Note: I feel awful for doing this to you guys! I'm sorry! But if you enjoyed the chapter please leave a review! Thanks a bunch :)**

**~Celeste**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! Really quick, happy birthday to ladybugsmomma! Haha I almost didn't update today, but I couldn't let you down on your birthday. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed for the last chapter! You guys are the greatest. Sooo here is the next chapter, and again I'm sorry for being evil with last chapter's cliffhanger. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: He began to usher his mother and daughter out of the hospital to safety when he heard two gunshots and a loud thud._

_He stopped in his tracks. "Mother, get Alexis out!" he called as he ran back to the room._

_He collapsed to the ground sobbing when he saw what was behind the door._

**Chapter 13**

Castle left the room. Tears began to silently fall down Kate's face. At least Rick was okay and so were Alexis and Martha. Her father held her just a little tighter. Bracken smiled at them and raised his gun.

"You know, I've never done this before," he said. "I may be the reason why dozens of people are dead, but I've always had someone do it for me, but this is going to be so much more satisfying." Bracken took the safety off of the gun and pointed it at Kate. "You first, say goodbye Katherine."

Then, they heard a crash. Someone had jumped into the room through the window. Distracted, Bracken looked away from Kate and Jim, and Jim took advantage by grabbing his daughter and pulling both of them completely under the bed. Two shots went off and they heard a thud followed by the sound of someone escaping through the window. Then the they heard the door open.

It was Castle.

He saw Bracken on the ground, dead. It was over. He fell down and started sobbing. "Kate? Jim?" he called.

"Rick?" Kate answered. She tried to scoot out from under the bed. It pulled at her stitches and it hurt like nothing else, but she made it out. Rick ran over to her and her father.

"KATE! Oh Kate!" Castle yelled, "You're okay, you're really okay." He embraced her as tightly as he could.

"I love you so much, Rick," she whispered. "It's over, it's finally over, Castle. We're free." It was then that Kate started to feel lightheaded.

Jim looked down at his daughter and saw red. She had torn her stitches. "Katie! Rick, get her back on the bed," said an alarmed Jim. Castle looked down at his hands and saw her blood. He picked her up quickly and gently laid her on the bed.

"Jim, try to find a doctor!" said Castle. Luckily for the three people, the police and a couple doctors had then raced into the room. "Just keep your eyes open, Kate. Don't close your eyes, sweetheart."

She tried. She really did, but she lost consciousness.

* * *

As Kate was taken away from him, Castle went to call his mother and daughter. Martha picked up on the first ring.

"Richard Alexander, don't you dare ever do that to me again!"

"Mother, I'm sorry I worried you, but Kate and Jim are okay, Mom. They're okay," he repeated. He was still in disbelief that they had all made it through this.

"Oh thank heavens. Can I talk to Kate?"

"Umm, not really."

"And why not?"

"She tore her stitches. She's okay, but unconscious right now and the doctors are fixing her up," he said sadly. In realty he was much more worried. He didn't like being away from her.

"Oh dear, well call me when she wakes up. Would you like to talk to Alexis?"

"Yes, thank you Mother."

Then he heard his daughter's voice. "Dad, are you okay?"

"Fine, pumpkin, I'm fine."

"When will you come home?"

"I'll be home once Kate wakes up. I just don't want to leave her right now."

Alexis sighed. "Just please come home soon, okay?"

"Okay, pumpkin. I love you."

"Love you too. Bye," said Alexis as she hung up.

Castle felt bad for leaving his daughter alone right now, but he couldn't imagine leaving Kate before she woke up. What if something happened and he wasn't there? He sat down in a chair when he saw Esposito and Ryan leave Kate's room.

"Hey Castle, you know we have to take your statement, right?"

"Yeah, I know," said Castle. He then began to tell his friends exactly what had happened.

* * *

When Kate opened her eyes again, Esposito and Lanie were in her room kissing quite passionately. Kate laughed quietly to herself before she cleared her throat. They looked up in surprise.

"Sorry to interrupt guys," she giggled. They both blushed. Lanie came up to Kate.

"Girl, I swear if you ever do that to us again I'm going to chain you to my desk in my office," Lanie said as she hugged her best friend.

"Yes ma'am," chuckled Kate. It was then that she noticed that she was in a different room. "I see they moved me."

"Well yeah, chica. You think we were going to let you stay at a crime scene?" replied Espo.

"Hey, don't make fun of me! My brain isn't fully functioning right now. I did just rip my stitches."

"Well I've got to take advantage when I can," he replied.

"Do you know who saved my dad and I?" asked Kate.

"No, whoever it was, we couldn't catch their face on any of the hospital cameras."

Then Castle entered the room. "Really Kate, I leave for like two minutes to get coffee and you wake up."

"Yep, I was just waiting for you to leave," she said with a smile. He smiled back and leaned down and kissed her. "Castle, where is my dad?"

"He left the hospital for a bit. I think he was heading home for a change of clothes."

* * *

As Jim arrived at his apartment, he was overwhelmed by the scent of perfume. It was smell that he hadn't smelled in years. Not since…

He gasped as he opened the door.

**End Note: And there it is! Please drop a review if you enjoyed!**

**~Celeste**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Happy Friday everyone! And if I may say so, thank goodness it's Friday! As usual, thanks a ton to everybody who read and reviewed the last chapter! I'm glad you guys enjoyed :) Alrighty, here's the next chapter my dears!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: As Jim arrived at his apartment, he was overwhelmed by the scent of perfume. It was smell that he hadn't smelled in years. Not since…_

_He gasped as he opened the door._

**Chapter 14**

He was looking at Kate's eyes. Except it wasn't Kate. He was speechless.

The woman slowly approached him, but didn't say a word.

"Jo? I…umm…maybe I'm still a bit dehydrated. Yeah, umm I should go back…" said Jim in disbelief.

"You're not dehydrated, Jim. It's me," said Johanna Beckett. It may have been 15 years since Jim had seen his wife but she looked the same as she did that January day in 1999.

"No. No, my Jo died. My Jo is gone. You are not my Jo, because the Johanna I knew would never leave me or her daughter if she could help it. I'm going crazy. All the damage I did with the drinking has finally caught up with me," said Jim in denial.

Johanna stepped towards him and reached to touch his arm. He pulled away before she made contact. "Jim, I'm so sorry. It's me, though. I'm back."

Jim looked at her. He was furious. She had been alive this whole time? She had left him and her teenage daughter and stayed away for 15 years. 15 long, difficult years. Her death is the reason that Kate does what she does. Oh no, Katie. How could he tell Katie? "Look, I need to go," he said. "_My _daughter is in the hospital, and as my duty as her parent, I need to be with her. Not that you'd understand that," he said coldly. He turned to leave, but Johanna caught him by the arm.

"Katie's hurt? What happened?" Johanna asked worriedly.

"Her mother lied and left her, that's what happened," he said. "Look, stay here. Let me cool down and we'll talk when I come back. But you need to stay away from _my_ daughter. Clear?"

"Yes," she said. Jim left and slammed the door after him leaving Johanna alone with her thoughts.

She had never meant for this to happen. About two months before January 9th, she had been approached by a man who informed her that someone had put a contract killer out to kill her. The man told her that he could protect her; she would just have to be away from her family for a bit while the case was dealt with. She had agreed.

January 9th, 1999 had started off as any other day. Katie was still home from Stanford for the holidays and she went to work around 8:30. Jim, Katie, and she were supposed to have dinner that night, but she got a call around 1:30. It was the man who had offered to protect her. He told her that he had to get her to safety tonight. He had warned her previously that there would be very little warning, but this was so sudden. As she left the office, she was picked up by a cliché black SUV. The man was inside waiting for her.

She never forgave herself for leaving her husband and daughter. She knew that her death had been staged, but that was all she knew. She could make no contact whatsoever with her family to maintain her cover. It broke her heart. She had no idea how Jim and Katie were doing. Heck, her only connection to them was the pictures she took with her that fateful night. She stared at those same pictures for 15 straight years. She missed them immensely.

But at least she knew they were okay, right? If something truly awful had happened to them, she would have been told, right? Then again, she knew nothing of their lives. Was Katie a lawyer like she had planned to be? Surely, Katie was always the type of person who had to finish whatever she started. If only Johanna could have communicated to them that she was okay, too.

Johanna decided to snoop around a bit. She was surprised to find that all her clothes and everything else in her bedroom were still exactly where she had left them. She looked around for some pictures. There weren't very many new ones. There were still plenty of old school pictures of Katie and family pictures of all three of them. Then she came across a picture she hadn't seen before. It was of her daughter. In a police uniform. Why was Katie wearing a police uniform?

Then her phone rang.

It was the man who had saved her.

Agent Jackson Hunt.

* * *

Jim didn't go back to the hospital. He went out and bought a bottle of scotch. He got back in his car and was about to drink it, but he couldn't. He just couldn't. Katie would be furious with him. How could he regress back to this.

He hadn't bought alcohol since he got sober for his daughter. He hadn't even considered it.

How could she do this to them? How could she leave them to struggle the way they did.

Maybe she had a reason. He hadn't even asked. He had been too angry.

Jim looked at the time and decided to head back to the hospital. He threw the full bottle of scotch into a trash. He wouldn't be needing it.

* * *

When Jim arrived back at the hospital Kate's room was very full. Esposito, Ryan, Jenny, Lanie, and Gates were all laughing about Castle scaring away the doctor yet again. Castle had gone home to be with Alexis and Martha for a bit.

Jim sat down next to Kate and took her hand. She smiled at him and he tried to smile back. Not telling her was eating away at him, but he just couldn't. How could he tell her that the reason she had become a cop was a lie. How could he tell her that she was shot because of a lie.

What was he going to do?

How could Johanna do this?

**Author's Note: And there you have it! Until next time!**

**~Celeste**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! Sooo how did everyone enjoy last night's (or Sunday's for our Canadian friends) episode? I know everybody hates Pi, including myself, but I love how much he drives Castle crazy! He's slowly growing on me. In regards to this chapter, I'm so sorry I couldn't update sooner, it was SAT testing Saturday this past weekend so this story took a backseat on my priority list. Enough of my excuses, though! Here is the next chapter!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: Jim sat down next to Kate and took her hand. She smiled at him and he tried to smile back. Not telling her was eating away at him, but he just couldn't. How could he tell her that the reason she had become a cop was a lie. How could he tell her that she was shot because of a lie._

_What was he going to do?_

_How could Johanna do this?_

**Chapter 15**

As Castle entered his apartment, he was grabbed by Martha into a tight hug. "Richard, I'm so glad you're okay!" said Martha. Then, her emotions changed and she slapped him on the side of his head.

"Ouch! Mother, what was that for?!"

"That was for leaving me worried," she said sternly. "Don't you ever do something like that to me again."

"You already said that over the phone," he whined.

"And I'm saying it again," she responded. Castle sighed and moved to say hello to his daughter. Alexis was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hey pumpkin, what are you reading?" he asked. She looked up at him for a second and then went back to her book. He sighed. "I take it you're mad at me then." Alexis nodded slightly, still giving her father the silent treatment. "Alexis, I'm sorry," he said as he sat down next to her. "I'm so sorry that I worried you. I'm sorry that I left you the way I did in the hospital. I'm sorry that I put you in danger."

"You're not the one I want an apology from," Alexis said under her breath as she angrily stood up and went upstairs to her old room. Castle ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Martha came over and placed her hand on his knee.

"Give her a minute before you go up there," she advised. Castle shook his head.

"No, she'll just get more upset alone with her thoughts," he said. He walked up the stairs to Alexis's room. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. "Alexis, I'm coming in," he said. He turned the knob, and found Alexis sitting on her bed crying into her pillow. He went over to where she was sitting and held her. She let go of the pillow and leaned into her dad. When the tears had subsided, Castle found his voice again. "Talk to me, Alexis."

"I love Kate. I really do, I swear. These last couple days, though, I just kept thinking that if it wasn't for her we wouldn't be in this situation. I know it's selfish of me, but I was furious with her."

"I understand, Alexis, and it is okay. You love me but still get mad every time that I do something stupid. I think you should talk with Kate about this, okay? I think it will make you both feel better because she's feeling pretty guilty right now."

"Okay, I will. I'm sorry for projecting my frustration onto you, Dad."

"Please, what else am I for?" he joked. Alexis smiled for the first time since Castle had come home.

"Could I go with you when you go back to the hospital?" she asked.

"Sure, Pumpkin."

* * *

Jim had never been a good liar. He was so bad in fact that when his daughter fell asleep, Esposito caught on. Esposito and Jim left the room for a bit to get coffee, leaving Lanie with KAte. While walking through the halls, Esposito suddenly stopped. "What happened when you got home?" asked Javi. His voice was full of concern.

"I don't know what you're talking about," denied Jim.

"I see Beckett got her stubbornness from you. Seriously, what happened? You came back and every time that Kate said anything you seemed to get worried about what she would say. Every time she looked at you, you looked away. If she didn't have a concussion then she would have probably caught on too."

"Look, it doesn't matter, okay?" said Jim as he turned and left. Annoyed, Esposito went back to Beckett's room. Lanie could sense his frustration as he entered the room. She went over and embraced him.

"Better watch it, Lanie. Becks might wake up on us again," he joked.

"I'll take the risk," said Lanie as she kissed him. Then, Castle and Alexis walked in.

"Woah, there Esplanie!" said Castle as he laughed.

"How come people never get caught on Grey's Anatomy but we've been caught twice in one day?" asked Esposito.

"You watch Grey's Anatomy?" asked a surprised Lanie.

"Used to, but then they killed off my favorite character and I never got over it," said Esposito. Castle tried to suppress a laugh. "Dude, what?"

"You made fun of Ryan for loving 2 Cool for School but you were emotionally invested in Grey's Anatomy!" Castle laughed.

"Oh haha very funny Castle," said Esposito. Then, the door opened again. It was someone they all had seen before, just not in person. It was none other than Johanna Beckett.

They all stared in disbelief. She was startled to see people in her daughter's room. She had expected it to be empty except for maybe Jim. She attempted to play it off. "Oops, I'm sorry, wrong room," she said as she tried to slide back out the door.

Lanie was the one to speak up. "I get the feeling you're not in the wrong room," she said as she looked at the woman. There was no denying that she was Kate's mother. They all could recognize those eyes anywhere, Kate's eyes.

"You're Kate's mom?" Alexis piped up.

"Look I really need to go, like I said, wrong room," said Johanna with shaky breath.

Then Kate began to stir. As she opened her eyes, she looked over to see Alexis, Lanie, Castle, and Esposito all staring at the woman in the doorway. She gasped.

"Mom?" she asked as tears spilled down her face.

Johanna turned and left as fast as she could.

**End Note: Thanks for reading! Leave a review if you enjoyed!**

**~Celeste**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: Hey everybody! So I realized that I never thanked you guys who read and reviewed for Chapter 14 and I felt awful so I'm sorry! So thanks a bunch to everyone who read and reviewed the last two chapters. And insertisernamehere, don't worry I'll explain in this chapter :) Speaking of the chapter, here it is!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: "Look I really need to go, like I said, wrong room," said Johanna with shaky breath._

_Then Kate began to stir. As she opened her eyes, she looked over to see Alexis, Lanie, Castle, and Esposito all staring at the woman in the doorway. She gasped._

_"Mom?" she asked as tears spilled down her face._

_Johanna turned and left as fast as she could._

**Chapter 16**

Coming had been a mistake. When Agent Jackson Hunt had called her, she had angrily picked up asking, "What has been going on these past 15 years?"

"Johanna, you know that I couldn't tell you anything," he responded.

"Oh, don't give me that Hunt!"

"Look, whatever has happened you can ask your husband himself but I was calling to make sure that you knew that there will be an official investigation of all of Bracken's staff."

"What about Bracken himself? You said that they caught him."

"I did, but it's kind of hard to send a dead man to jail," said Hunt. Johanna sighed. She never got the full story from Hunt.

"Can you at least tell me which hospital Katie is in?" she asked.

"She's at Presbyterian. They just moved her to room 1321," he responded. Johanna hung up the hone immediately, got a cab, and made her way to Presbyterian. She knew that Jim was heading back there and she hoped to be able to explain herself. She mostly just needed to see if Katie was okay, though.

As she arrived at Presbyterian, she asked for directions to room 1321. A nurse directed her to Kate's room. Johanna stood outside the room trying to work up the courage to face her husband and daughter. She felt sick to her stomach. What if they rejected her? What would she do then? Finally she pushed open the door. Jim wasn't in the room. There were four other people though. They all stared at her in disbelief. Kate's friends maybe? Wait, Katie! Johanna looked over to the hospital bed in the middle of the room.

She could feel the tears form in her eyes. Kate was hooked up to an IV and it looked like she was getting blood as well. She looked so pale and still. At the same time, she looked at her daughter and was amazed. Her little girl had grown up.

Then, she remembered the other four people in the room. They were staring at her with mouths wide open. Quickly, she said, "Oops, I'm sorry, wrong room." She turned to leave, but the short woman spoke up.

"I get the feeling you're not in the wrong room," she said.

Then the redhead said, "You're Kate's mom?" Johanna now knew for sure that these people knew who she was. She had to get out.

"Look I really need to go, like I said, wrong room." Then she heard movement coming from the other side of the room. Kate was stirring and her eyes fluttered open. When she saw Johanna, she let out a gasp and tears began to fall down her face.

As Johanna looked at her daughter, she could see the pain in Kate's eyes, the pain that she had caused. It was too much to handle, and Johanna ran out of the room. She ran right into Jim.

"Jo? What are you doing here?! I told you to stay at home!" he said.

"Yeah, I'm going back there now. I had wanted to talk to you, but we can do it later," she said. She needed to get out of the hospital now.

Jim looked her over, and then he seemed to almost read her mind. "Tell me that you didn't go see Katie." Johanna looked down. "Go back to the apartment. I have to go fix this. What were you thinking?! That you were going to show up and everything would be forgiven? If that's what you think, you are sadly mistaken. Was she awake?" Johanna continued to look down. "Great, go back to the apartment now!" he yelled as he stormed off. This time she listened.

* * *

As Johanna ran out the door, Rick ran to Kate. He sat down on the bed and pulled her into his arms. The floodgates opened, and Kate began to sob. "That wasn't her, right?" she said in between sobs. "Rick, tell me that I was just hallucinating! It's the PTSD, right?"

"I'm so sorry, love. I'm so sorry," he whispered in response as he rocked her. Esposito, Lanie, and Alexis were still standing by the door in disbelief. Then, Jim entered the room.

"Katie?" he asked. Kate looked up from Castle's shoulder to her father. He came and sat in the chair next to her bed.

"Dad, tell me I'm going crazy. Tell me that it's the drugs they gave me messing with my mind," she said.

"It's not Katie. She was waiting for me when I went home," he said.

Kate turned back to Castle. "She's really not dead? She really left me?"

Castle could only hold her tighter. He knew that there was nothing he could say to make this right.

"Why would she do this? And why did she run out of here?" she asked her father.

"I don't know, Katie. But I'm going home right now to find out. Will you be okay?" said Jim. Kate nodded and then buried her head back into Castle's shoulder. Jim gave Castle a look that Castle knew meant "take care of her" and Castle nodded. Jim left to get the answers he and his daughter needed. Lanie and Esposito left as well to give Kate and Castle some space. Alexis went over to Kate and Kate looked up.

"I'm so sorry, Kate," said Alexis. Kate held out her arm to Alexis and Alexis sat next to her on the bed. All three held each other as Kate cried into Castle's shoulder.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Drop a review if you enjoyed and have a nice day!**

**~Celeste**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** **Hi everybody! I just wanted to thank you guys so much for all your support. I never imagined such a response! Every time I log on and see how many people have read and when I read all of your reviews I am amazed. It really means so much, so thank you so so so much! So this chapter is dedicated to all of you because I never would have gotten this far without you guys :)**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: "I'm so sorry, Kate," said Alexis. Kate held out her arm to Alexis and Alexis sat next to her on the bed. All three held each other as Kate cried into Castle's shoulder._

**Chapter 17**

Jim slammed the door behind him as he entered the apartment. Johanna jumped off the couch at the noise. Jim leaned against the door and stared at Johanna. Johanna broke the silence. "How is Katie?"

"She's torn up thanks to you," responded Jim coldly. "Now you said you had an explanation."

"I do," said Johanna.

"So get to explaining."

Johanna took a deep breath. "I don't even know where to start."

"Start with the day that you supposedly died."

"Right. I was at work and I got a call. It was from this man, Agent Hunt, who had contacted me before about my safety. He said that he needed me to disappear and that not only was my life in danger, but yours and Katie's as well. He told me that he would be waiting for me after work. At 5, I left the office and got into his car. He drove me to North Tonawanda and he gave me a new identity. For the last 15 years, my name has been Deborah Hanson."

"And you never thought to contact us? You never thought to let us know that you were okay?"

"I would've if I could, but I wasn't allowed to make contact with anyone from my old life. Jim, I wasn't allowed to know anything about you two. I've been staring at the same pictures for fifteen years and that's the only way I've been somehow connected to you two. It was awful," said Johanna trying to defend herself.

"Because I haven't been staring at fifteen year old pictures of you? The difference is, I thought you were dead! I lost the love of my life forever, but the whole time, she was fine! In fact, she never left the state! So don't you tell me how awful it was!" shouted Jim.

"I didn't know if you were okay either, Jim! They wouldn't tell me anything! I have no idea what was happened in your lives in the last fifteen years!" she yelled back.

"Oh, you want to know what happened?! When you left Katie and I, we fell apart. Katie never went back to Stanford. She decided she was going to be a police officer instead because she wanted to put away criminals like the person who took you away. Your murder defined her then. She drowned in it, still does sometimes. I wasn't much help either because I started drinking. Every night, I would think of you and that burn would come back and the only thing that could appease it was alcohol. I nearly lost Katie because of it, but she got me sober. We were doing better after that, but then your murder reared its ugly head at Katie's precinct. She began to drown in it and no one could pull her out. And do you know what happened? She was shot. In the heart. Right in front of me. And it was all a lie, you lied and Katie nearly died."

Johanna was in tears. She had no idea just how much her disappearance had affected Jim and Katie. "Katie was shot? My daughter was shot and I wasn't there for her. What if she had died? This is all my fault," she whispered. Jim moved closer to her.

"This is why I didn't want you to see Katie before I talked to her. Not to mention the fact that she's still recovering from her most recent injuries," Jim said a little more calmly.

"What happened recently?"

"That's something that I think you and Katie should talk about, eventually. Look, she needs me right now so I'm going to go back. I will tell her what you said and I will ask if she would be okay with you coming. If she is, I will let you know and you may come. If not, you will not step foot in that hospital. Okay?"

"Okay," she said. It was a start after all.

Jim looked at her. Yes, he was furious, but he had a second chance with the love of his life. "Jo? I know I'm being hard on you, but you really hurt us. I still love you, Jo. And I am ecstatic that you're alive and that we have a second chance, but I can't just let the past fifteen years go."

"I love you too, Jim," she said. Jim nodded and let the room.

* * *

Alexis had to go back to class, so now it was only Kate and Castle in the room. They were both lying in the bed with Castle's arms wrapped around Kate. Her eyes were still puffy, but the tears had subsided for the moment. Castle was fiddling with her hair.

"Rick?"

"Hmm?"

"What are we going to do about the wedding?" she asked.

In all honesty, Castle hadn't given the wedding a second thought these last few days. All he had been concerned with was getting her and her father home and keeping her safe. "You know that I want you to be my wife as soon as humanly possible, but Kate if we need to wait a bit so that you can fully recover that is perfectly fine. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready."

"We'd be on our honeymoon right now if things had gone as planned," she sighed.

"We'll get there, Kate. I promise we will get there." Kate nodded in response. Then, Jim came into the room.

"Hey you two," he said as he entered the room.

"Hey Dad," Kate responded as Castle helped her sit up. "So what did she say?" she asked quietly.

Jim told her Johanna's story. When he was done, he looked up nervously at Kate. "Now, do you want for her to come here or do you still need some time?

Kate looked up at Castle. "What should I do?"

"It's up to you, love."

"Call her."

**End Note: And there it is! Drop a review if you enjoyed! See you next chapter!**

**~Celeste**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Thanks a million bazillion to all of you who reviewed and read the last chapter. You guys make me smile. And to mixadoodle, sorry that was unclear! Chapter 13 starts a couple of seconds before Chapter 12 ended. It's just in the hospital room. So the gunshots at the end of Chapter 12 are the gunshots a couple of sentences into Chapter 13. Hope that clears things up! Alrighty everybody, here is the next chapter!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: Jim told her Johanna's story. When he was done, he looked up nervously at Kate. "Now, do you want for her to come here or do you still need some time?_

_Kate looked up at Castle. "What should I do?"_

_"It's up to you, love."_

_"Call her."_

**Chapter 18**

Jim nodded and stepped outside the room to call Johanna. Castle squeezed Kate's hand which he had been holding. She looked up at him. "You're staying here, right?" she asked.

"Where was I going to go?" he responded. Kate nodded silently in response and leaned her head against Castle's shoulder. She didn't know how she was going to handle this. Just the thought of her mother being alive sparked this anger in her, so how would she react when they were in the same room? "Stop thinking so hard, Kate," said Castle as if he could see the wheels turning in her head. She laughed quietly, he knew her so well. Then, Jim reentered the room.

"I just called her. She's on her way, but she doesn't want me here when she talks to you so I'm going to go grab something to eat. Do you two want anything?" asked Jim.

"Can I have coffee?" asked a hopeful Kate.

"Coffee isn't food, Katherine," said Jim disapprovingly.

"Oh fine," said Kate. Kate and Castle gave Jim their orders and Jim left the room. Castle looked down and saw that Kate's hand which he wasn't holding was shaking.

"It's going to be okay, I'll be here the whole time. If it gets to be too much, just say so and she'll be out of here, okay?" he said trying to calm her. Before she could respond, there was a knock at the door. Kate opened her mouth to respond, but found that no words could come out. Castle noticed and responded for her. "Come in."

Johanna Beckett slowly entered the room. She looked at Kate, but Kate quickly averted her eyes. Johanna sighed and sat in the chair near the door. She then looked at Castle. "Do you mind giving us some alone time?" she asked.

"He stays," said Kate sharply.

Johanna looked at their intertwined hands and nodded. "Katie, I just want to talk with you. I know that I hurt you, but I want to fix it."

"It's going to take more than just a talk to fix this." Johanna sighed. Jim had warned her that this was going to be rough.

"Then what is it going to take, Katie?" asked Johanna. Kate didn't respond. Tears slowly began to cascade down her face. Castle squeezed her hand and wiped her tears away. "Katie, please look at me," begged Johanna.

Kate turned towards Johanna. Her mother could see it again, her daughter's haunted eyes. "Just answer me one thing," began Kate, "What did you think I would do when you left?"

"I thought that of course for a bit you would be grieving and that it would be hard on you, but I never expected for what happened to you to happen. I thought you would have moved on and let go."

"Move on? Let go? When had I ever done either of those things?! And you thought that I would just move on with my life knowing that the person who took my mother away was running around free? Did you honestly think that my mother dying would affect me for just a bit?"

"Yes! Katie, I never thought that it would be as much a part of your life that it is!"

"You're my mother! And up until today, I believed you died when I was nineteen! How could that not be a part of my life? Even if I hadn't become a cop, when I got engaged all I could think of besides how happy I was that he proposed and that we were going to plan a life together was you! I thought about how my mother couldn't be there on my wedding day. You couldn't help me pick a dress or walk me down the aisle with Dad. How could that not be a part of my life?"

"You're married?" asked Johanna quietly.

"Engaged. The wedding was days ago, but because of the people who I thought killed you fifteen years ago, it didn't happen," said Kate angrily. Johanna was silent. "Dad was kidnapped from our wedding. He was kidnapped by someone who worked for Bracken."

"You said 'our' wedding," said Johanna slightly confused.

Castle spoke for the first time. "I'm Rick, her fiancé," said Castle introducing himself.

"I see," said Johanna. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "Look Katie, I'm sorry about the wedding, but now I can be there."

"Excuse me?" said Kate. "I'm sorry, I thought you understood that you weren't going to be able to waltz back into my life like the past fifteen years never happened. You think that now that you're here all my problems are solved?"

"Katie, I'm saying that I can be there for you now. It's all over."

Kate and Castle were both at a loss for words. Johanna honestly believed that it was over, and that a talk was going to clear everything up. She honestly thought that they were going to let her back into their lives that easily.

"Mrs. Beckett, I don't think that Kate sees it quite that way," said Castle. Kate was trying to control her breathing next to him, but she was walls were closing in on her.

"You don't know how she sees it!" said Johanna, "This is between my daughter and I, not you."

"Please leave," said Kate.

"What?" said Johanna.

"Please leave. You obviously have not a single bit of understanding for what you did, because if you did you would know how much it hurt Dad and I. How much it still does. If you understood, you would have known that you leaving me would crush me, but you would also know how much more your deception is crushing me. You don't understand though, so please leave."

"Katie-"started Johanna.

"She asked you to leave," said Castle. Johanna looked back over at her daughter. Kate was facing the other direction, tears coming down her face, her breathing uneven. Johanna stepped forward to Kate but Castle blocked the way. "She's hurt, both emotionally and physically and needs to rest, so you need to leave. Now."

Johanna turned and left. Castle climbed back onto the bed with Kate and held her whispering into her ear that it was going to be okay and that he was there. Then, Martha entered the room with a smile. At the sight of her son and her almost daughter in law, Martha turned around and left. Alexis had told her about Johanna's return, and obviously something had gone very wrong with their conversation. It was time for Martha to have a talk with Mrs. Beckett.

**Author's Note: I love Martha, so I thought that it was time for her to go give out some Martha-isms to our unsuspecting Johanna Beckett. Let me know what you think! I think I like where this chapter is leading as far as the remainder of the story, but I love to hear your opinions. Until next time!**

**~Celeste**


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Hey everybody! Happy Wednesday! So today, or last night I guess, the story reached 100 reviews! So I owe you guys a hundred thank you's for all your support! I never imagined such a response for my first story, so really guys thank you so much! Alright well here is the Martha chapter that you all seemed very excited for! Enjoy!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: Johanna turned and left. Castle climbed back onto the bed with Kate and held her whispering into her ear that it was going to be okay and that he was there. Then, Martha entered the room with a smile. At the sight of her son and her almost daughter in law, Martha turned around and left. Alexis had told her about Johanna's return, and obviously something had gone very wrong with their conversation. It was time for Martha to have a talk with Mrs. Beckett._

**Chapter 19**

Martha ran towards the hospital entrance to try to catch Johanna before she left. Then, she spotted a woman who looked like an older Kate. She had to be Kate's mother. Martha ran towards her. "Excuse me, Johanna?" asked Martha as she approached the woman. Johanna turned around surprised.

"How do you know my name?" she asked confused by the redhead.

"Oh please, darling. Katherine looks nothing like her father, so it's not difficult to point out her mother. She looks just like you," said Martha with a smile. "Come now, we can go back to my place and have some wine and talk."

"Umm, I'm sorry but I don't know you so I'm just going to go to my own apartment, thanks."

"Oh how silly of me! Sorry, I'm Martha Rodgers, Richard's mother," said Martha.

"Oh, Katie's fiancé," realized Johanna.

"Yes, dear, now come with me," said Martha as she ushered Johanna through the entrance doors. Johanna was still wary of this woman that showed up out of nowhere. Martha called a cab and she and Johanna headed to the loft. Martha didn't speak the entire ride; there would be plenty of talking when they got to the loft. When they did arrive at the loft, they were greeted at the door by Eduardo.

"Afternoon, Mrs. Rodgers," greeted Eduardo.

"Hello, dear. No crazies in the apartment today, right?"

"No ma'am," laughed Eduardo.

Martha led Johanna to the elevator, and then into the loft. When they opened the door, the coffee table was still shattered on the floor. "Whoops! Just ignore the mess, the investigation just ended so we should be able to clean this up, but our talk first. Here, let's go in the office. Would you like white or red?"

"Investigation?!" asked an alarmed Johanna.

"I'm thinking red, and yes we'll get there, dear." Martha went to go get the wine, leaving Johanna alone in Castle's office. Johanna walked around the office looking at everything.

As Martha reentered the room with two wine glasses, Johanna said "Your apartment is very nice, what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm an actress and I also run my own acting school. This is actually my son's apartment."

"I see," said Johanna. She smiled as she looked at a picture of Kate and Rick on the desk. Then something hit her. "Wait, is your son Richard Castle?"

"Yes, dear, but please do not feed his ego," said Martha as she handed Johanna a glass and motioned for her to sit down. "Now speaking of our children, what happened at the hospital?"

"I went to talk to Katie, but she refused to listen. She told me about how difficult planning a wedding was without me, and when I said that I was here now and that it would all be okay again, she asked me to leave. I just don't understand. I get her being a bit upset, but I'm back now. Shouldn't she be happy?"

Martha took a breath. This was going to be more difficult than she had originally thought. "Darling, I'm sure that there is a piece if her that is ecstatic that you are alive, but that is deep underneath all of the hurt of the past fifteen years."

"I get that, but I had a reason. I told her that I didn't have a choice!"

"Even if you didn't have a choice, she is going to feel like you chose to abandon her."

"But I-"

"Johanna, she may be your daughter, but you don't know how she has changed over the past fifteen years." Johanna was silent. How could she not know her own daughter?

"I know Katie."

"What does she do when she's upset or she's been hurt?" asks Martha.

"She talks to someone. Whenever something would happen when she was younger she's come to me, or if I wasn't around Jim, and talk through it together."

"That's not what she would do now. When I first met Katherine, she would run away and try to deal with her problems herself. Even now, the only person she truly opens up to is Richard, and sometimes even he has to push her to open up."

"Why would she act like that?" asked Johanna.

"Because when she was nineteen she didn't have you to open up to anymore. Katherine stopped opening up to people because she didn't want to get hurt."

"I didn't realize that," said Johanna quietly.

"A lot has changed, probably more than I can tell you myself. You need to let Katherine really talk to you about her life, and it's going to take time. She's not going to immediately open up to you."

"Why do you call her Katherine?" asked Johanna.

Martha smiled. "It's her given name, right? And it's a beautiful one, so why not call her Katherine? My son Richard may go by Rick to some and Castle to others, but he'll always be Richard to me. That's what I named him."

Johanna smiled back. "So you are close with her?"

"She is a dear, I love her like she was my own. And let me tell you, I have never felt that way about any of Richard's other relationships. She truly loves him, and he loves her," said Martha as she took Johanna's hand. "Listen, though, Johanna. If you want to have your relationship back with your daughter you need to move at her pace."

"But I need her to understand-"

"No," said Martha sternly. "The past fifteen years for you were not a walk in the park, I get it. However, I guarantee that it was as bad if not worse for Katherine. So if you want a second chance with her, if you want to be able to be at her wedding, you need to let her lead."

Johanna looked down. "I don't know if I can wait any longer."

"You need to if you want to save your relationship with your daughter."

Johanna nodded. "Now, what was with the shattered coffee table?"

"Katherine was kidnapped after her father from here a couple days ago. The man who took her threw her into the table."

"Why is she still in the hospital?"

"She was stabbed. They had to remove her spleen. She woke up yesterday."

Johanna was shocked. Just how much had Kate been through while she was away?

"Johanna, do not start to blame yourself, okay? The things you've done have hurt Katherine, but this is not your doing."

"Sure," said Johanna, still not convinced.

"Look, it is going to be rough for a while. Katherine is going to need time to recover as well as get used to the idea of you being back. If you need to talk to someone, I am here."

"Thank you," said Johanna quietly.

"However, if you don't listen to my advice and you push Katherine too far, I will take her side, clear? All of us here are very protective of her."

"I'm glad that she has you guys," responded Johanna.

"We're glad to have her."

* * *

Castle helped Kate out of her bed. Her doctor wanted her to get up and walk around for a bit. She was unsteady on her feet when she first stood up. She began to get frustrated with herself. "You're not Superwoman, Kate. Just take it slow," said Castle

She laughed, "Well maybe I'll just make you carry me down the aisle."

"Oh really?"

She smiled at him, but then she stumbled again. Castle led her to a chair and helped her sit down.

"Jokes aside Castle, what are we going to do about the wedding when I can't even walk for five minutes?"

"Kate, you had major surgery just days ago and you just woke up yesterday. Not to mention the fact that you ripped your stitches and your mother just showed up. We'll worry about the wedding when we're ready."

"I just want to be married already."

"I know, love," he said as he kissed her cheek. Then he laughed.

"What is so funny, Castle?"

"If you had said 'I just want to be married already' to me not that long ago I would have thought you were messing with me," he laughed.

"What happened to your theory that I fell for you the minute I saw you?"

"I-uh…fine, you win that one," he laughed. She laughed with him. "Alright, we should head back to the room."

"Okay, help me up," she said. Castle wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her onto her feet.

Kate closed her eyes for a minute. Castle looked at her concerned. "Kate? Love, are you okay?"

"Room's spinning. Need to sit down," she mumbled. Then she collapsed.

"Nurse!" shouted Castle.

**End Note: There you go! So yes, something else is up with our poor Kate, I'm sorry, but I thought I needed to give Johanna a chance to help Kate get better. Let me know if you enjoyed! Until next time!**

**~Celeste**


	20. Chapter 20

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Happy Friday! So thank you so so so so so much to all of you who reviewed and read for the last chapter. I love reading your reviews and seeing your reactions! Oh and this chapter has some medical stuff, so again I'm not a doctor at all! Everything in this chapter I learned from looking it up on WebMD. Alrighty everybody, chapter 20!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: "If you had said 'I just want to be married already' to me not that long ago I would have thought you were messing with me," he laughed._

_"What happened to your theory that I fell for you the minute I saw you?"_

_"I-uh…fine, you win that one," he laughed. She laughed with him. "Alright, we should head back to the room."_

_"Okay, help me up," she said. Castle wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her onto her feet._

_Kate closed her eyes for a minute. Castle looked at her concerned. "Kate? Love, are you okay?"_

_"Room's spinning. Need to sit down," she mumbled. Then she collapsed._

_"Nurse!" shouted Castle._

**Chapter 20**

Castle was pushed away from Kate as she was surrounded by a hoard of medical professionals. "What's happening?!" he shouted to the group. On nurse stepped away from the group.

"Sir, they'll take good care of her, okay? How about you come with me and tell me what happened," said the nurse calmly. Castle barely acknowledged her. A doctor had arrived with a gurney for her and a few of the other doctors had just lifted her onto it. Then, Doctor Johnson, Kate's surgeon who Castle had driven crazy these past few days, came running towards the commotion. He took one look at Kate and gave orders to get her out of the hallway so they could assess the problem. As the other doctors wheeled her away, Dr. Johnson approached Castle.

"What happened, Mr. Castle?" asked the doctor as he motioned for the nurse to follow the group with Kate.

"I don't know. We were walking around the halls like you told Kate to do. She was starting to get frustrated, so we sat down for a bit to take a break. When she got back up, she told me that she felt like the room was spinning and then she just collapsed. Is she going to be okay? Is this a complication from the surgery?"

"I cannot say anything definitive at this point. If you could please wait in the waiting room I can tell you more after we run some tests."

Castle nodded and the doctor ran down the hallway. Castle slowly walked toward the waiting room. How many times is this going to happen? This is the third scare in just a few days. What could have possible brought this on? Sighing, he pulled out his phone to call his mother.

"Hello Richard," said Martha as she picked up.

"Mother, I need you back at the hospital."

"Is everything alright?" asked Martha alarmed by the worry in her son's voice.

"No, it's Kate. We were walking in the hallways and she just collapsed. The doctor can't even tell me what's happening to her right now. Mother, I need you here," said Castle. He knew he sounded almost childlike begging for his mother to come, but he needed her. He was about to lose it.

"I am leaving the loft right now and I'll call Jim while in the cab. I'll be there soon. Just stay calm, she'll be okay," said Martha as she hung up. Unknown to Castle, Martha had had her son on speaker and Johanna had been in the room when she took the call.

* * *

Johanna and Martha arrived in the waiting room together. Castle looked up and was shocked to see Kate's mother. Noticing her son's surprised expression, Martha explained, "Johanna was with me when you called. I invited her over for wine."

"I don't think her being here right now is a great idea," said Castle. While she was Kate's mother, Castle was not the biggest Johanna fan at the moment given the conversation in Kate's room.

"Richard, she's just as concerned as you. She's staying."

"Fine, but she doesn't see Kate until Kate says that it's okay," said Castle. For all he knew, this all could have been brought on by stress, and he was not having Johanna in the room if that was the case.

Martha was about to object, but Johanna said, "That's reasonable, Martha." Martha was pleased. Johanna had listened to what she had told her during their conversation. She was willing to move at Kate's pace. Needing to distract herself, Johanna tried to start up a conversation. "So how did you and Katie meet?"

There was a hint of a smile on Castle's face at the question. "She was working a case that involved someone murdering people the way I do in my books and brought me in for questioning. I weaseled my way into the rest of the investigation and eventually into the precinct permanently as a consultant. We've been partners since then."

"When did you two start dating?"

Castle chuckled. "Four years later." Johanna looked up surprised. "We took our sweet time and annoyed many people," he explained.

"Don't even get me started on the amount of money I lost on those two," said Martha.

Castle smiled slightly, but then he went back to looking down at his hands. He couldn't keep it together anymore. Johanna noticed tears beginning to form in Castle's eyes. "You really love her, don't you?" said Johanna quietly. Castle nodded as a single tear fell. He did not speak in attempt to keep it together. Johanna moved to sit next to Castle and placed her hand on his shoulder. They didn't need words.

Dr. Johnson entered the room and the three people turned to him. "Is she okay? What happened?" asked Martha.

"We believe that she collapsed as a result complications with her splenectomy. See, while a person can live without a spleen, they do become more susceptible to infections. Some of these infections occur rapidly, we refer to them as OPSI, overwhelming post-splenectomy infection. They can be very serious. From Ms. Beckett's fainting, her fever of 104, and her shortness of breath, we believe she has a severe case of pneumonia brought on by her surgery."

"Why did you not mention the possibility of her getting so sick before?" asked Castle.

The doctor glared at him. "Mr. Castle, she woke up yesterday and ever since she woke, there seems to be some event going on in her room."

Castle could feel his anger rising. Before he could say anything back, Martha said, "Can we see her?"

"No. Mr. Castle, you are not her husband. You may not see her until I allow her to have non-family member visitors. Her father is her only living relative, correct?"

"No," said Johanna, "I'm her mother."

The doctor looked confused and looked back at his chart. "I have here that her mother is deceased."

"Well your information is incorrect," said Johanna.

The doctor looked at Johanna suspiciously. "You may see her, however, if I find out you're lying, you will be asked to leave the hospital permanently. Mr. Castle, you should go home." Dr. Johnson left before Castle could argue.

Castle swore under his breath. "He can't seriously do this. And Mrs. Beckett, you agreed that you would wait to see Kate until Kate said it was okay."

"I'm not leaving her alone, though!" Castle couldn't argue with that. The only thing worse than knowing that he couldn't be with Kate, is Kate being alone in her hospital room. Then, Martha's phone went off. It was a text from Jim.

"Jim says that he is stuck in awful traffic. He doesn't know when he'll make it here."

"Then I am going to be with Katie," said Johanna not leaving any room for argument. She left the waiting room. Martha walked over to her son.

"I need to be with her mother. I need to see her to I know that she's okay," said Castle, his voice full of tears.

"I know, darling," said Martha sadly. There was nothing that she could do, but maybe Lanie could.

* * *

Johanna entered Kate's room and was overwhelmed by the amount of hospital equipment surrounding her daughter. Kate had an oxygen mask on to help with her breathing, and she had multiple IVs giving her medication. Johanna approached her and took her hand. She was shocked by how hot her daughter's hand was. Johanna moved her hand across Kate's forehead. Kate was burning up. Johanna sighed. Her daughter was sick, and there was nothing she could do. Johanna sat in the chair next to Kate's bed and took hold of her hand, there was nothing else she could do.

**End Note: Alright so next chapter we're going to have a conversation between Lanie and this doctor, I'm sure you all can guess how that'll go. Drop a review if you enjoyed! Until next time!**

**~Celeste**


	21. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: Hello everybody! So first off, thanks a bunch for everybody who read and reviewed for the last chapter. And to KACULLEN, sorry I wasn't clear! I know that hospital policy would allow fiancés in; it was the doctor being a pain which prevented Castle from being in the room since doctors can technically kick someone out of their patient's room. I was just trying to set up for this chapter with Lanie kicking some doctor butt :) Again, sorry I didn't make that clear! I'll work on that. Oh and I'm not a medical professional, all my info is from WebMD, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. Okie dokie everyone, here is the next chapter!**

**I don't own Castle**

**Chapter 21**

It was a good thing that Doctor Lanie Parish was good friends with cops. If she really needed to get somewhere fast she could call up Esposito and he could get out the gumball and break the speed limit and zip past the backed up traffic. She and Esposito managed to get to the hospital in a record breaking 10 minutes, which is crazy for New York traffic. Lanie went right up to the front desk. "Where can I find Dr. Johnson?" she asked.

"I can page him to meet you down here if you would like," replied the man behind the counter.

"That would be great, thanks," said Lanie. She and Esposito went to go sit in the chairs by the desk to wait for Dr. Johnson. "I swear, when I see that doctor…" she started.

"Just please don't get us arrested, okay?" joked Esposito in an attempt to make her smile. He had no such luck. Then, Dr. Johnson came out of the elevator. Lanie stood up and walked right up to him.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"That's doctor. I'm Dr. Lanie Parish, Kate Beckett's best friend."

The doctor visibly paled. "My apologies, Dr. Parish. Now, what is it you needed?" he asked.

"I need you to tell me exactly why Richard Castle is not being allowed in his fiancée's room," she stated. Esposito could have sworn that Lanie hadn't blinked since the doctor had arrived.

"In my medical opinion, Mr. Castle's presence would be detrimental to Ms. Beckett's recovery. I believe that it would be better for her medically if he was not in the room," said the doctor shakily. In truth, he really just was tired of Castle questioning him in regards to his fiancée's status and in how the doctor did his job.

"But her mother who just showed up out of the blue is perfectly fine, right?" questioned Lanie. Johnson did not respond. "That's what I thought. Now I have been told by Martha Rodgers that Kate has been diagnosed with pneumonia, correct?"

"Yes," responded Johnson shortly.

"May I see her chest x-rays?" asked Lanie.

"There was no need for the chest x-rays, she had all the symptoms and pneumonia is common in patients who develop infections after a splenectomy."

"So you diagnosed your patient with no real proof?"

"She has a fever, she's short of breath, and she passed out. She has pneumonia, okay! I had other patients to attend to, important surgeries to perform. I didn't have time to run a test to tell me what I already knew!" shouted the doctor.

"Oh, so Kate isn't important enough to get a correct diagnosis?!" Lanie shouted back.

"You don't know I was wrong!" The shouting caught the attention of Johnson's boss on the other side of the room.

"I'm Dr. Fraccica, can I help you?" he asked as he approached Lanie and Johnson.

"Yes, Dr. Johnson here was my friend's surgeon on her splenectomy a couple days ago. Today, she contracted a fever and collapsed. Dr. Johnson here did not order a chest x-ray before diagnosing her with pneumonia because apparently he has more important patients to attend to."

"Johnson is it true you diagnosed without a chest x-ray." Johnson nodded silently. "Alright, she's my patient now. Go home Johnson, I will meet with you tomorrow. Your cases will be given to someone else. Would you show me to her room ma'am?"

"Gladly," said Lanie smugly watching Johnson's mouth open wide with shock. Lanie led Fraccica to Kate's room. The doctor entered the room and picked up Kate's chart. Johanna seemed not to notice them enter the room.

"Okay, I'm going to take her up for a chest x-rays so we can properly diagnose her. I'll also be checking to make sure that there isn't any pleurisy if she does have pneumonia."

"I just have one more thing," said Lanie. "Would it be possible for her fiancé to be with her when you get back? Dr. Johnson was annoyed by his questions and told him that he couldn't be in the room."

"Sure, as long as he doesn't negatively impact her recovery, there shouldn't be a problem." Lanie thanked the doctor and went to the waiting room to find Castle. Esposito, who had been quietly following Lanie, extended his hand to Johanna. She took it, and they followed Lanie to find Castle and Martha.

As they entered the room, Lanie said, "Johnson's gone, Castle."

"How'd you do that?" he asked shocked.

"Man kicked you out and diagnosed my girl without a chest x-ray; I had to make a scene."

Castle got up and hugged Lanie tightly. "Thank you so much, Lanie." Then he turned to Johanna. "How is she?"

Johanna sighed. "She's not great. Her temperature is still well above where it should be and even with the oxygen mask, her breathing isn't great."

Castle's face fell. "Was she awake?"

"No, if she woke up, I would have left. I know she doesn't want to see my right not. I went so that she wouldn't be alone at least while she was asleep, I don't want to upset her and push her farther away."

Castle nodded. At least she understood where her relationship with Kate stood.

* * *

Later, Dr. Fraccica entered the waiting room. "First, I apologize on behalf of my colleague for the delay in proper diagnosis. Ms. Beckett does have pneumonia; however, the chest x-ray revealed that she also has some pleurisy, meaning that the pleura, the membrane around the lungs, is inflamed. It is sometimes accompanied by pneumonia, like in the case of Ms. Beckett."

"How does this change her treatment?" asked Castle.

"Well, we can administer some anti-inflammatories along with the antibiotics we her already giving her for the pneumonia. They should help bring some of the inflammation down. Mainly, this just alerted us of the severity of her illness. Are there any more questions?" The group shook their heads. "Alright, then I believe that Mr. Castle wanted to visit her."

Castle nodded his head and followed the doctor. When they opened the door, Kate was awake. He walked over, took her hand, and kissed her too warm forehead. "You're trying to give me a heart attack, aren't you?"

She rolled her eyes and smiled under the oxygen mask. She lifted the mask for a minute and said, "Not my fault you're getting older." Then she started to cough.

Castle quickly placed the mask back over her mouth. When she stopped coughing, he said, "Judging by the sound of that cough, love, you're not that far behind me."

**End Note: I needed a little bit of humor at the end of this :) Okay guys, drop a review if you enjoyed! And I apologize for a shorter chapter, but I have and English paper to get to which kind of trumps this. Sorry! Until next time my dears!**

**~Celeste**


	22. Chapter 22

**Author's Note: So I owe you guys a huge apology for not updating for two weeks. I had some family issues come up and then I got the flu, I just cannot catch a break this fall! I keep getting sick! So I am so incredibly sorry for the wait! Thank you a million and a half times to all of you who read and reviewed the last chapter, I felt awful keeping you waiting. Well you've waited long enough, here is the next chapter.**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously:_ _Castle nodded his head and followed the doctor. When they opened the door, Kate was awake. He walked over, took her hand, and kissed her too warm forehead. "You're trying to give me a heart attack, aren't you?"_

_She rolled her eyes and smiled under the oxygen mask. She lifted the mask for a minute and said, "Not my fault you're getting older." Then she started to cough._

_Castle quickly placed the mask back over her mouth. When she stopped coughing, he said, "Judging by the sound of that cough, love, you're not that far behind me."_

**Chapter 22**

Jim arrived at the hospital 10 minutes after Castle went to see Kate. He walked right up to Johanna who was still in the waiting room. "Is she okay?" asked Jim.

"She's got pneumonia as a result of her surgery. Apparently the splenectomy makes her more susceptible to infection."

"But she's okay, right?"

"Her new doctor seems confident that she'll be fine," responded Johanna.

"New doctor?" asked Jim confused. Johanna explained what had happened with Lanie and Dr. Johnson. Jim sighed when she finished. "Sounds like Lanie alright. Jo, I'm going to pop in and see Katie for a minute and then we can go home. There are some things we need to discuss." Johanna nodded as Jim left the room to see Kate.

As Jim opened the door, he saw Castle sitting on the edge of Kate's bed holding her hand as they talked. He cleared his throat and they looked up. Kate smiled through the mask.

"Hey Dad," she said softly.

"Hey Katie, how are you feeling?"

"Just peachy," she joked. He gave her a disapproving look. She sighed, "I feel like someone used sandpaper on my lungs, but I'll be fine Dad."

He nodded and leaned down and kissed her forehead, "Will you be okay of I leave? There is something I have to discuss with your mother."

Kate winced at the mention of Johanna. "I'll be fine, Dad."

"I'll be back in like two hours, okay? Try not to get yourself into trouble," said Jim as he left. Kate turned away from Castle as her father left.

"Kate? You okay?" asked Castle.

"No, I still don't know about…" she stopped not wanting to verbalize the fact that her mother was back.

"And you don't have to. She agreed with my mother to move at your pace. If you want your space, you'll get your space. If you want to try to talk with her again, then you can. But, don't worry about that right now. Just focus on getting better, okay?" She nodded in response. "Now my lovely muse, would you care to read my latest chapter?"

"You never let me read anything before it's been published!"

He shrugged. "I figured you'd need something besides me to keep you from going crazy being in the hospital, but if you don't want to-"

"Nope! Where is your laptop?" she asked eagerly.

* * *

Jim was driving back to his apartment with Johanna in the passenger seat. He looked over at her as they came to a red light and asked, "So you know anything about a letter that was sent to Bracken regarding evidence in your murder case?"

"Sure, Agent Hunt planned on sending Bracken a letter threatening to expose him once he had enough evidence," responded Johanna

"Did he ever send it?"

Johanna looked confused. "Jim, what is this about?"

"A loose end. The man who held Katie and I hostage had this letter that he claimed I sent threatening to expose Bracken, but I never sent it. It's the whole reason we were taken."

Johanna was silent. She had heard Hunt discussing such a letter before, but he never said that he had sent it. When they arrived at the apartment building, Johanna excused herself to make a phone call. She called Hunt. He answered on the first ring.

"What do you need Johanna?"

"Did you send that letter threatening Bracken? Did you use my husband and daughter as bait to get Bracken out?" asked Johanna angrily.

"No! The reason I got you to go into hiding is your husband and daughter's safety so why would I have used them as bait?" responded Hunt, "Not to mention the fact that your daughter also happens to be my son's fiancée. I may not have a relationship with him, but I wouldn't knowingly put his fiancée in the line of fire."

Johanna thanked Hunt and hung up abruptly and went to find Jim. If Hunt hadn't sent the letter and Jim hadn't either, then who had?

* * *

D

Dr. Johnson was furious when he knocked on his colleague's apartment door. The other doctor opened the door. "What do you want Johnson?"

"I want you to tell Fracicca the truth! I could lose my job because of you!"

"You're not going to get caught."

"Well I did! Her doctor friend made a scene and caught Fracicca's attention and now Detective Beckett is her patient."

"Well maybe you should have been more careful because now I need a new plan and you're not getting paid," responded the other doctor.

"What do you mean I'm not getting paid?! You said that I'd get 10 grand if I could get her sick. I've done everything you've asked! If you don't give me the money, I'm going to the cops."

"Good luck getting them to believe you, bud," said the doctor as he closed the door on Johnson. He needed a new plan. It was Johnson's job to ensure that seeing as Kate didn't die when she was kidnapped that she would die of something that seemed like just a mere complication in the hospital. Yes, partly this was all about Bracken, but Tisdale was also being paid by someone else as well. Wasn't the timing of Kate and her father's wedding impeccable? This was just as much about stopping Kate from marrying Castle as it was about Bracken, because Josh Davidson never did get over her. If Josh couldn't have her, then no one would.

**End Note: So there is more to this story than I thought! Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!**

**~Celeste**


	23. Chapter 23

**Author's Note: And I left you all waiting again… I'm so sorry! Please bear with me for the next few weeks, the majority of my college apps are due in the coming weeks so that has to take priority. I promise that I will try to update as much as I can, but it's pretty unpredictable. Alright, well a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and read for the last chapter, I'm so glad you guys are still as into this story as I am!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: "Good luck getting them to believe you, bud," said the doctor as he closed the door on Johnson. He needed a new plan. It was Johnson's job to ensure that seeing as Kate didn't die when she was kidnapped that she would die of something that seemed like just a mere complication in the hospital. Yes, partly this was all about Bracken, but Tisdale was also being paid by someone else as well. Wasn't the timing of Kate and her father's wedding impeccable? This was just as much about stopping Kate from marrying Castle as it was about Bracken, because Josh Davidson never did get over her. If Josh couldn't have her, then no one would._

**Chapter 23**

Castle was awoken the next morning by his cell phone ringing. He looked over at the bed next to him and Kate was still deep in sleep undisturbed by the ringing. He then glanced at the screen and saw that it was the boys calling. "Castle," he answered.

"Hey Castle, you still at the hospital?" asked Ryan over the phone.

"Never left," Castle said as he tried to stretch out his sore back. Sleeping in the uncomfortable chair next to Kate's bed was not his finest idea.

"We've got a problem with the case. Jim says that he was questioned about a letter that Tisdale claimed he sent to Bracken, but Jim didn't send the letter. He asked Johanna last night about it too and she says that she doesn't know anything about it and the people who have hidden her for the past 15 years didn't send it either."

"Ryan, what are you saying?" asked Castle as his concern began to rise.

"He's saying that there may be someone else or something else involved with Jim and Beckett's kidnapping," responded Esposito.

Castle rubbed his hand over his face. Every time he thought that the case was done and they were safe something else seemed to come to light. Would it ever end? "Okay, I'm stopping by the precinct later today to help you guys. I'll have someone else sit in with Kate. Just let me know if you find anything before I get there," said Castle. Then, he noticed Kate beginning to wake up and he said his goodbyes to the boys and made his way back over to Kate. "Morning," he said as her eyes opened.

"Morning," she responded with a slight smile. "How long have you been up?"

"Not too long, I just got off the phone with Ryan and Esposito."

She looked curiously up at him. "Everything okay?"

He shook his head. "Kate, do you remember anything about a letter from when you were being held by Tisdale?"

She scrunched her eyebrows together in thought. "There's something there, but I was pretty out of it most of the time. Why?"

"There's a loose end in the case and there is a possibility that we're missing a connection. I'm going to go to the precinct in a bit to help the boys. I'll call Mother and Alexis to come and sit with you until I get back."

She looked up at him in shock. "Do you seriously think that I am going to sit here being babysat and let you play superhero? No Castle, at the very least you guys need to have me on the phone so that I can help."

"Kate, you need to be healing not working your own case."

"What harm is going to come of me being on the phone with you and the boys discussing the case? Rick, I cannot sit here and do nothing," Kate countered.

"You need to be resting, Kate!"

"And you think that I'll rest just fine knowing that we missed a connection and someone might be out there to try to kill me or even you?! You can't cut me off from the case like this!" she said as her anger started to rise.

He let out a defeated sigh. "I will call you when I get to the precinct, but I'm still not leaving you alone."

"I'll stay with her," interjected Lanie as she entered the room.

Castle looked at Kate for approval. "Fine," she said, "But if you don't call I will check myself out of this hospital and take a cab to the precinct, clear?"

Castle rolled his eyes and kissed her forehead. "Deal. I need to head home and clean up. I will call when I get to the 12th. Love you."

"Love you, too," she said as he left the room.

* * *

Staying true to his word, Castle called Kate once he made it to the 12th and kept her on speakerphone as he spoke with Ryan, Esposito, and Gates as they updated him on the case.

"There has to be another reason that Beckett and her father were taken besides the whole Bracken situation, we just can't think of what it might be," said Gates. "Detective Beckett, can you remember anything else discussed while you were held captive besides your connection to Bracken?"

"Not particularly, but like I told Castle, I was pretty out of it and I don't remember a whole lot. You'd have to ask my dad," responded Kate.

Esposito sighed, "He couldn't think of anything either, Becks."

Then, Lanie spoke up from Kate's end of the phone. "What about when they were taken? Don't you remember what that note that we found after Kate's dad was taken said?"

"Yeah, it said something along the lines of 'who'll walk you down the aisle now?', right?" asked Ryan.

"Exactly!" said Lanie. "What if this is actually about the wedding? What if who is really behind this was just trying to stop the wedding?"

"But who would do something like that?" asked Castle.

No one had an answer for that.

**End note: And there it is! Please let me know if you enjoyed by dropping a review! Until next time my lovelies!**

**~Celeste**


	24. Chapter 24

**Author's Note: Happy Wednesday everyone!** **How did you guys enjoy Monday (or Sunday) night's episode? I honestly cannot wait until next week's, the promo made it look intense! Thanks a bunch to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! Alright guys, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Castle**

_Previously: Then, Lanie spoke up from Kate's end of the phone. "What about when they were taken? Don't you remember what that note that we found after Kate's dad was taken said?"_

_"Yeah, it said something along the lines of 'who'll walk you down the aisle now?', right?" asked Ryan._

_"Exactly!" said Lanie. "What if this is actually about the wedding? What if who is really behind this was just trying to stop the wedding?"_

_"But who would do something like that?" asked Castle._

_No one had an answer for that._

**Chapter 24**

"Well what about your ex-wives, Castle?" asked Ryan.

"Meredith and Gina? Gina was at the wedding, and she has been supportive the whole way through, I mean she supports it because marrying my muse sells more books according to her, but she supports us nonetheless. Meredith isn't the biggest fan of Kate, but she wouldn't be able to plan something like this. In fact, I'd be surprised if she even knew when the wedding was that's how much attention she pays to the people around her," said Castle.

They all silently nodded in agreement. "We should run their financials just in case to see if anything pops. What about you, Kate?" asked Esposito.

"Sorry, I don't have any ex-wives," responded Kate. That response earned a light slap from Lanie. "Fine, ummm I really cannot think of anyone who would do this."

"What about Sorenson, Demming, and Josh?" asked Esposito.

"They're probably not my biggest fan, but I haven't seen Sorenson in like five years and we really weren't back together for very long so he's out. Tom I haven't seen since I told him that I wasn't going with him that Memorial Day Weekend and I never even told him about my mother's murder. Josh and I broke up amicably, we both knew it was over," said Kate.

"And we saw Josh in the hospital and he pulled some strings so that we could see you after surgery," said Ryan.

"Wait, how did you run into Josh here at Presbyterian?" asked Kate. No one responded thinking it was a trick question. Castle, Ryan, Esposito, and Gates could here Kate asking someone in her room a question. "Guys, Josh stopped working here years ago. I just asked my nurse. He went on a Doctors Without Borders trip to Africa to set up clinics for like two years and he never came back to work at Presbyterian."

"Get a warrant for his financials, Ryan," demanded Gates.

Then Castle's voice came over the phone. "Kate, I'm leaving the 12th now, I'm getting you out of there. If Josh is behind this and he has access we need to get you out somehow. Lanie, will she be okay of we have to move her out?"

"She's not going to be able to walk still, so we need to figure out transporting her and I need to get meds for her so her pneumonia doesn't get worse. She can go without the oxygen now, so she should be fine as long as she stays with me so I can watch her fever and breathing."

"It's not ideal, but see what you can do Lanie. Kate, I'll be there soon. I love you."

"I love you too, Rick," responded Kate and then Castle hung up.

* * *

When Castle got to Kate's room, Dr. Fracicca was there talking to Lanie. "Mr. Castle, Dr. Parish here tells me that it has been deemed unsafe for Ms. Beckett to stay here." Castle nodded in response. "I have to inform you that that means that she will be checking out against medical advice. That being said, how can I help?"

Lanie asked the doctor for a supply of the medications that Kate was already receiving through her IVs. The doctor nodded and left the room. Castle turned to Kate. "Okay, I've got some of your clothes from your desk at the precinct." He assisted her in getting out of her hospital gown and by the time Dr. Fracicca returned she was fully dressed in her street clothes. "This is a supply that should last her a week, which is how long we'd be keeping her under ideal circumstances. The hospital will just bill her as if she stayed for as long as she was supposed to that way it will appear that she stayed for the duration she was supposed to for anyone who may look at our records. No one will be able to know that she's left unless they go and check every room in the hospital."

"Thank you so much, Dr. Fracicca," said Kate.

"Please, if you're in danger because someone managed to get past our security, the least I can do is get you out safely." The doctor handed Lanie all the medications that she would need as well as some extra medical supplies.

"Okay, let's get you into the wheelchair now, Kate," said Castle.

"Are you sure I can't walk, Lanie? I really think it'll be fine," said Kate hesitantly.

"You collapsed the last time you walked for five minutes, Kate. You're not walking," responded Castle sternly before Lanie could even open her mouth. Kate didn't say anything else, so Castle went over to her bedside and gently picked her up and placed her in the wheelchair. He placed a light kiss on her cheek and whispered in her ear, "I know not being able to walk outside of here and in front of the boys upsets you, but you're still just as kickass." She chuckled, he really did know her.

They all went out the back of the hospital and made it into a blue van waiting for them. Jim was waiting for them in the driver's seat. Once everyone was buckled, he took off. "Where are we going?" asked Kate.

"Jackson Hunt offered to take us in for the time being. He's the agent who has been keeping your mother hidden for all these years," responded Jim.

Kate and Rick looked at each other in disbelief. "Jackson Hunt?" asked Castle.

"Yeah, why? Do you know him or something?"

Not only had his long lost father who he had only met once shown up to protect them, he was the one who has been hiding Kate's mother.

Castle had no words to respond.

**End Note: Ta Da! Let me know if you enjoyed! Until next time!**

**~Celeste**


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